Mathias Verhasselt works at Blizzard. As a concept artist, yes, but he also does one of my favourite things in both cinema and games: Matte paintings. These are the exquisitely-detailed images that movies use for static, artificial backdrops and scenery, but you may not know that game trailers and cinematics use them as well (though…
Gearbox knows what I think of Duke Nukem Forever. Why not let them know what you think, as part of the studio’s public survey on gamer’s opinions of the game
A Reddit user who says his dad works at Nintendo of America posted this image yesterday of a commemorative gift given to the man after twenty years service at the company. Seems the guy in question is Jerry Danson, Senior Manager of Systems and Engineering, who first joined Nintendo in 1991. The image has since…
The 49th Amusement Machine show wrapped up recently in Japan. The show played host to new arcade games like Sega’s Operation G.H.O.S.T., new medal games for Monster Hunter and Pokémon, and a bunch of prizes. Jackass comedian Esper Ito arrived in a bag, while booth companions showed attendees around. Check out the festivities, courtesy of…
Sony’s new PlayStation Network terms of service, which basically exist to try and stop the company being taken to court by disgruntled users, aren’t exactly popular in the US. If you’re from Europe or Australia, though, relax: They don’t apply to you. A Sony spokesperson has confirmed with Kotaku Australia that across the territories governed…
Starting this November, Dragon Quest‘s cute blue Slime character is getting its own meat buns. The blue buns will go on sale at convenience stores across the country. This week Japanese television showed off the Slime meat buns and did a taste test. The slightly sad Slime face combined with the meaty filling make this…
Despite being developed entirely by Japanese men and women, The Legend of Zelda has always had a more Western aesthetic. Something this wonderful fan art seeks to address. French artist Gerwell has reimagined some of the series’ main characters for a fantasy project of his, and in this project, there are less belts, heavy leather…
With Dynast Warriors Next, hack-and-slash series Dynastt Warriors is coming to the PS Vita. The game uses traditional button based combat and touch screen controls. Prompts clue in the player when to use the touch screen. Kotaku wasn’t able to get hands on with the game at the Tokyo Game Show (long lines, not enough…
We hear about video game studios closing down – and people losing their jobs as a result – all the time. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to be one of those affected? To work through the job uncertainty, survive a round of layoffs, get the sack and try and find new work?…
Fan flicks continually get better and better. Check out this Skyrim fan film trailer, which features swooping aerial shots, a CG dragon, and fire. If you like this, you can subscribe in the YouTube link below. Remember when it was enough to have a grungy guy don a costume and run around in the woods?…
Yvonne Strahovski is known as both a model and TV actor, but really, around here she’s Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson. And that’s it. Or it was until today, as she’s now known as Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson and “lady who talks about Angry Birds so much it’s a little strange”. In an interview with Collider,…
The press room on the last day of the Tokyo Game Show was dead. I spent the afternoon in there, finishing up some stories and just when I was leaving, I spotted a slick Mercedes Benz. I stopped, pulled out my camera and got ready to snap off a quick photo to send to my…
Since you weren’t at the Tokyo Game Show, you would have missed Capcom’s lineup of stage presentations, held as part of the company’s enormous (and awesome) booth. While they were light on news, they’re heavy on live gameplay demonstrations and clips, so if you feel like seeing footage of DMC, Dragon’s Dogma, Asura’s Wrath, Resident…
There’s a closed , very private beta going on at the moment for Valve’s upcoming click simulator DotA 2. Or, at least it was private: one of the participants has apparently leaked the client data onto the internet, spilling all kinds of information on the game. Among the content currently out there are character icons,…
Over the past thirty years there have been plenty of memorable Star Wars games, from the Super Star Wars series to X-Wing to Jedi Knight to Battlefront. They’re all classics, not just awesome adaptations of a movie franchise but awesome games in their own right. Star Wars: Yoda Stories is not one of those games.…
Four Roombas swept across the floor at this year’s SUPER iam8bit art show, recreations of the most memorable low-ranking bad guys from Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Thanks to iam8bit, you can now see those Nintendo-fied Roombas in video action. You can contact Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at [email protected].…
Our semi-nightly off topic thread is back from vacation, so please welcome its return while also talking amongst yourselves. I’d contribute, but I’ve got some Burrito Bison to play… Seriously, lots of things to get done tonight, so I’ll leave you with some interesting links and encourage you to join your fellow Kotaku commenters in…
Like many folks, I’ve got a complicated relationship with pre-game splash screens. On the one hand, I like that series of middleware introductions, publisher logos, and various other graphical preamble that flash across my screen, largely because of how I savor them the first time I’m playing a game that I’m excited about. I watch…
See how far the Assassin’s Creed series has come with your “day one” copy of Assassin’s Creed Revelations for the PlayStation 3 will have a nice little bonus in the form of Assassin’s Creed—the 2007 original—free of charge, Ubisoft announced today. Ubisoft says of the “special partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment” that “gamers will be…
A month after release, popular opinion holds firm that Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a well-made game. And yet one niggling flaw stands out, an issue that has been highlighted in countless blog posts, tweets, and video game forums. Those accursed boss battles. They were, in a word, bad. As I played the game for…
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