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CultureTotal Recall
A Celebration of Awesome NES Title Screen Art
I know we recently took a look at the “forgotten” art of the video game title screen, but those were contemporary examples, from the time the art had already been forgotten. It’s probably a better idea to look at a time when it was in its prime, featured on the games of the Famicom and…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 18, 2011 -
Culture
No Country for Old Men
This week Techland’s western series Call of Juarez makes a run for the present-day border. Other releases include the latest Fallout: New Vegas expansion, a Captain America movie tie-in, and the early release of some Left 4 Dead 2 DLC. Tuesday Call of Juarez: The Cartel (PS3, 360) — A drug war in Mexico forms…
By Owen Good Published July 17, 2011 -
Culture
Sunday Comics
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 July 11. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published July 13. – Read more of Nerf…
By Owen Good Published July 17, 2011 -
Culture
The Regal Video Game Art of Nadia Mogilev
You know, this being video games and all, most of the concept art we feature shows men with guns, or destroyed landscapes or sometimes men with swords. Today, we’ll change that. Well. Mostly. There are still some men with swords, but today’s Fine Art has a gentler touch to it. These images are by artist…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallLet’s Watch Old Japanese Nintendo Commercials
July 15, 1983. If that’s your birthday, happy birthday! If it’s not, that’s cool. It’s still a very special date in history. Because it’s the day the Nintendo Famicom first went on sale in Japan. Later released in the West as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES), the Famicom is where things really got serious…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2011 -
Culture
The Concept Art of Matt Codd, the Artist in Charge at Respawn Entertainment
Respawn Entertainment, the studio birthed by the fired founders of Infinity Ward, have a new art director with a very impressive resume. Matt Codd, Respawn’s new art director, has contributed to films Saving Private Ryan, Serenity, Chronicles of Riddick, Transformers 3, and many, many… many more. The official Respawn web site has a new interview…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 14, 2011 -
Culture
Where Does Batman Get All This Wonderful Concept Art?
There may be over seventy years worth of Gotham City imagery to draw from, but that doesn’t mean the developers of Batman: Arkham City were allowed to get lazy. Continuing on from their work on Arkham Asylum, the artists at Rocksteady Studios have again drawn on the inspiration of famous comics, awesome cartoons and the…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Mario Movie Could Have Been so Much Better
The Mario movie we ended up with in 1993 was nothing like the games it was based on. An earlier draft for the film, however, was a lot more faithful. It’s impossible to tell whether it would have been any good, of course, but in sticking to the basics of the Mushroom Kingdom it at…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 14, 2011 -
Culture
The Stunning Video Game Art of Thierry Doizon
Thierry “BARONTiERi” Doizon is something of a legend in the world of video game concept art, having been in the business since 1995. In that time, he’s worked for companies like Ubisoft, Eidos and Acclaim, while contributing to series and games such as Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia and Deus Ex: Human Revolution In addition…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 13, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallLet’s Pour One Out for Westwood Studios, Creators of the Real-Time Strategy Genre
Of all the studios Electronic Arts has bought over the decades, few were as talented or important to the history of video games as Westwood Studios. Yet despite essentially pioneering the real-time strategy genre as we know it, creating one of the most popular franchises of all time and doing not one, not two, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 13, 2011 -
Culture
The Double Fine Art of Lee Petty
As one of the most imaginative video game developers in the business, it’s a pleasure today to highlight the work of one of the artists at Double Fine, the studio behind games like Brutal Legend, Psychonauts and Trenched These images and paintings are the work of Lee Petty, who after serving on projects like 2005…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
The Real Story Behind Sim City’s Arcologies
Despite the fact they only appeared in one game (Sim City 2000), arcologies remain an iconic symbol of the Sim City series. But just what the hell are they? While appearing in the game as projects from the future, arcologies are very much real, the name deriving from “architecture” and “ecology”. An arcology is, in…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2011 -
CultureTotal Recall
In 1983, Donkey Kong Nearly Died
As we celebrate what’s (probably? maybe?) Donkey Kong’s 30th birthday, let’s today take a look at the 1983 court case which nearly brought a premature end to Nintendo’s big ape. Our story begins in 1982, with the first of many idiotic decisions made by Universal Studios. The studio’s president at the time, Sid Sheinberg, had…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2011 -
Culture
A New College Try
It seems like we just had graduation, but EA Sports returns to campus this week with NCAA Football 12. A new L.A. Noire case and Ms. ‘Splosion Man round out the highlights. Tuesday NCAA Football 12 (Xbox 360, PS3) — A raft of new features in the game’s Dynasty and singleplayer Road to Glory modes…
By Owen Good Published July 10, 2011 -
Culture
Sunday Comics
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 July 4. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published July 8. – Read more of Nerf…
By Owen Good Published July 10, 2011 -
Culture
This Week in the Business
What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Unquestionable.” – id programming genius John Carmack states that “within a very short time” mobile devices should eclipse the current consoles QUOTE | “They’ll talk sh*t but they’ll buy it.” – Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski admits that he and everyone…
James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published July 8, 2011 -
Culture
The Manly Video Game Art of Ville-Valtteri Kinnunen
Barbarians. Knights. Tribal warriors. All very manly men with their armour and swords and scowls, all very much a speciality of Finnish concept artist Ville-Valtteri Kinnunen. Now employed at BioWare, Kinnunen has worked on games like Dragon Age 2, Age of Conan and the criminally under-appreciated Warhammer 40K: Squad Command Working on a Conan property…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallRemembering the Great, Last Ninja
Today, we’re looking at The Last Ninja. The first “badass” game I ever played, and still one of my all-time favourites. The Last Ninja was first released in 1987 on the Commodore 64, and was developed by Hungarian outfit SoftView and legendary 80’s studio System 3. It was, and remains to this day, one of…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2011 -
Culture
The Undying Video Game Art of Toshiaki Takayama
Depending on your gaming tastes, you may not have seen much of the work of Toshiaki Takayama. Which is a shame, because his work is incredible. Takayama’s work in the video game field (he’s contributed to anime, trading card games and books as well) has turned up in Japanese arcade titles like Lord of Vermilion,…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 7, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Amazing 1979 Song About Computer Games
There have been plenty of songs written about video games over the years. You have your favourites, I have mine One that lingers in my memory, though, comes from a time before I was even born: 1979’s Computer Games, by the Australasian band Mi-Sex. What’s so memorable about this song isn’t the fact that it’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 7, 2011