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Culture
Runescape is Getting a Facelift. Here’s Some Art.
Here’s something cool. Runescape, the venerable (and hideous) MMO that’s now over ten years old, is getting a graphical overhaul later this year. Before the new models take their place in the game, though, concept artists had a tricky challenge. How to maintain the identity of such ancient characters but update them for 2012? And…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 10, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Legend of the Legend of Zelda Board Games
In 1988, Milton Bradley released a Legend of Zelda board game. Awesomely, it wasn’t a lazy conversion of an existing game like we see now, with Nintendo Monopoly or Metal Gear Risk. It was a game specifically tailored for Zelda And take a look at that box art! Amazing stuff. The game was based on…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
There’s Nothing Like Vintage Sci-Fi Art to Liven up a Game Cover
Few things on this planet get me more excited than classic science fiction art. Wait, no. Quality classic science fiction art. Which means people like John Berkey, who is the man behind two of the best examples of sci-fi box art from the 1990s. Berkey, who passed away in 2008, was a prolific commercial artist…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 8, 2012 -
Culture
Zen and the Art of Pinball
The new year is still getting off to a slow start. Highlights this week are entirely downloadable titles, for PS3, Xbox 360 and on the 3DS eShop, where Zen Pinball releases on Thursday. Tuesday • Choplifter HD (PC, PSN) Wednesday • AMY (XBLA) • Choplifter HD (XBLA) Thursday • Zen Pinball 3D (3DS eShop) Sources:…
By Owen Good Published January 8, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: The Safety Dance
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 Jan. 2.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Jan. 6.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published January 8, 2012 -
Culture
The Head-Punching Game & Comic Art of Dave Wilkins
Dave Wilkins is a concept artist in the video game business. He’s also an artist in the comics business. So if you see awesome art in this gallery about comic characters in video games, or video game characters in comic books, do not be alarmed. What you’ll see in the gallery above is a selection…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 5, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallWhen Video Games Come to Life, Emilio Estevez Must Die
When it comes to old video game movies, you’ve probably seen, or at least heard of, stuff like The Last Starfighter. Or Joysticks. Or adaptations like Street Fighter, Double Dragon and Mortal Kombat. You don’t often hear people talking about The Bishop of Battle. Which is a shame. Because it’s amazing The Bishop of Battle…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 5, 2012 -
Culture
The Blinding Character Art of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
If you’ve played (or even seen) recent fighter Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and thought, well, that character art sure is lovely, I wonder where I can get high-res versions of them all, you’ve got taste. You’re also being looked after today by Capcom, who in a pleasant surprise (this doesn’t happen very often) has…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 4, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallThere was a Famicom Game About the Leader of the Soviet Union
You expect, and will find, old games for the Famicom where you play as a soldier. Or a pilot. Or an athlete. What you don’t expect, but what you’ll find anyway, is a game starring the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This is Gorby’s Pipeline, otherwise known as Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen.…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 4, 2012 -
Culture
The Kickass Mechs, Guns and Soldiers of a…Gameloft artist?
Gameloft has a pretty poor reputation around these parts, much of it very richly-deserved, but that doesn’t mean the mobile gaming specialists are entirely without merit. In 2009 Gameloft founded Redsteam, a studio that specialises in pre-production art. Its purpose is two-fold: while it creates art for Gameloft titles, it also aims to “grow in…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 3, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Forcing Old Atari Game Boxes to Tell the Truth
Rarely was there ever a greater discrepancy between actual graphics and box art design than during the Atari era. You’d get these amazingly evocative, painted box arts for a game about…blocks. Not cool. Mighty God King seeks to rectify this by taking the box art and changing the game’s name to better reflect what’s being…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 3, 2012 -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Friendship is Modding
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 Dec. 26.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Dec. 29.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published December 31, 2011 -
Culture
This Year in the Business: ‘The Hacker is 2011’s Person of the Year’
This week, Industry Gamers took a look at what happened in 2011, and what will happen in 2012. QUOTE | “The Hacker is 2011’s Person of the Year.” – James Brightman, Editor-in-Chief of IndustryGamers, presents the Top 10 people of the year and why they mattered to the game industry in 2011 in this 4-part…
Steve Peterson Published December 30, 2011 -
CultureGame Artists Create Their Ultimate Characters
Every year, give or take a few months, the best video game artists from around the world get together and submit entries in a competition called Dominance War. The aim is to create the ultimate character. Not replicate someone else’s, but come up with their own, then model and render it (or in some cases…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2011 -
CultureSome of the Prettiest Game Trailers In the Business
Blur Studios. You may have heard of them before (like in this feature we ran on them last year), as they’re responsible for some of the biggest and best cinematic video game trailers around. So it’s cool today that we get to look at some of the work of Heikki Anttila, CG Supervisor at the…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
Some Awesome Magazine Covers From the 1970s
In September 1975, the first issue of tech magazine Byte hit newsstands in America. While it would be mildly influential for at least the first decade of its existence, I’m not bringing it up today for its editorial content. I’m bringing it up for its awesome covers. The world of computers in the 1970s was…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 27, 2011 -
Culture
Weekend Comics: Everything’s Ring-a-Ding
Welcome to your weekend 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 Dec. 19.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Dec. 23.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published December 24, 2011 -
Culture
Former Homeworld Developers Are Making A New Sci-Fi Game
Over the past ten years, ever since we saw the last of the critically-acclaimed Homeworld series, a number of key developers working on games for developers Relic left the studio. Many of them have now settled in at a new home, Blackbird Interactive, where they’re working on “an ambitious and original sci-fi social strategy game”…
By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2011