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A Tribute to One of PC Gaming’s All-Time Greats

Sensible Software. If you know what that means you’re probably smiling already. If you don’t, well, you sure missed out. A British studio most prolific – and successful – in the late 80s and early 90s, Sensible developed for platforms like the Spectrum, Amiga and PC, and became famous for two things: adorable little pixel…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 13, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

They Really Don’t Make Games Like This Anymore

You hear that sentence a lot, about all kinds of things, but in the case of video games – and in particular 1991 adventure game Heart of China – it’s true! The 1990s were a bizarre time for PC gaming. As the format embraced the CD-ROM, and began to hit truly mass-market levels of awareness,…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 12, 2012

Culture

Good Evening. Here’s Some Terrific Concept Art.

Simon Goinard has been doing freelance work for the past decade, with his art featuring for clients as diverse as Disney, Exxon, Camel and Aston Martin. He’s also done quite a bit of video game work, with an equally-impressive list of employers like Sony Computer Entertainment Japan and Guild Wars developers ArenaNet. You can see…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 12, 2012

Culture

The Agony And Ecstasy Of The Pepperidge Farm Cookie

Over at Slate, a writer has gone ahead and eaten every kind of Pepperidge Farm cookie. He begins his article thusly: People think I’m weird because I like Chessmen. But they’re my favorite cookies, and I defend them with vigor whenever I encounter a Milano-lover who wants to fight me about it. And with that,…

By Kirk Hamilton Published September 11, 2012

Culture

In China, McDonald’s Makes Both a White Burger and a Black Burger

You are looking at a Black and White Hamburger combo. That’s right, the hamburger wizards at McDonald’s in China figured out how to make what looks like the hamburger equivalent of the black & white cookie—but needed two burgers to do it. As website TheBeijinger points out, this isn’t just a black and white burger…

By Brian Ashcraft Published September 11, 2012

Culture

This Isn’t Office Space. It’s Deus Ex.

Based in Montreal, concept artist Donglu Yu has worked on two of the prettiest video game properties around: Deus Ex and Assassin’s Creed. Having spent two years at Eidos, Yu moved in 2010 to Ubisoft, where she’s been working on the Assassin’s Creed series, from Brotherhood to the upcoming Assassin’s Creed III. You can see…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo Let Literally Anyone (With Money) Make Famicom Games

In 1984, Nintendo released Family BASIC, a programming suite for its Famicom (NES) console. Including a swish keyboard and data recording unit, it was designed to allow consumers to, with a little teaching, program their own basic games for the system. Including a few stock titles as templates, it was sadly never released outside Japan.…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

StarCraft Was Once a Busted Pile of Crap

Blizzard isn’t just famous for its games, it’s famous for a lengthy and considered development output. It’s one of a privileged few studios in the world that can say “we’ll release the game when it’s ready”, and really mean it. The agonising wait fans have to endure for new Blizzard games is testament to this.…

by Patrick Wyatt Published September 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

One of the Rarest Games on Earth is About The Bible

Once believed to be a hoax, vintage Atari game Red Sea Crossing has in recent years emerged as one of the holy grails of video game collecting, owing partly to the fact that it’s believe only two known copies exist on the entire planet. And also because it’s about Moses. Programmed by Steve Schustack in…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012

Culture

The Week In Games: … And a Fight Broke Out

Unless you’re looking to dance with a basketball, this week’s big releases involve a two-person tango with fists: Tekken Tag Tournament 2 or NHL 13, your choice. Tuesday •NHL 13 (PS3, 360) •Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (PS3 360) •Double Dragon: Neon (PSN) •Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier – Raven Strike (XBLA, PSN) •Transformers: Fall…

By Owen Good Published September 9, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: YODO, Too.

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 Sept. 3.—Read more of Virtual Shackles Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 3.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…

By Owen Good Published September 9, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘No Sex Please, We’re Gamers.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “No sex please, we’re gamers.”—GamesIndustry.biz’s Matt Handrahan talks to Miriam Bellard of No Reply games, who explains why she thinks their erotic game Seduce Me was removed by Steam Greenlight QUOTE | “For all we know, social games are a fad.”—Chris…

By Steve Peterson Published September 8, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

When The Future of Video Games Was…Tape Decks

This is a commercial for Hitachi’s H2 model of the MSX, Microsoft’s unsung hero of Japan’s gaming past. The soothing tones, the brilliant whites, the computer-generated animal…this is the future, people. The distant, star-gazing future! Where video games are so advanced they’re sold not on discs, or downloaded over communications networks, but put on cassette…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Miyamoto’s Worst Game Idea Ever. Or Maybe The Best. Not Sure.

In 1989, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for an interview. The two spoke about practically everything, from game design to their latest titles (like Link to the Past) to the future, but what I found most interesting was the pair’s ideas on making games about teaching. Both had…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012

Culture

Star Wars, Dead Space, Transformers, This is Some of the Best Nerd Art on the Planet

Ryan Church is about as close to the top of the concept art world as you can get. He’s worked on Star Wars movies. He’s working on the new Star Trek movies. He’s worked on Avatar, Transformers and John Carter. In addition to all that movie stuff, though, he’s also found time to lend a…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012

Culture

The Art of a Man Working on Blizzard’s Next MMO

The last time we featured the art of Nick Carver was in 2008, when the dude was looking for a job. Today, he seems to be doin’ OK, as he’s a senior artist at Blizzard. Having spent over five years at Free Radical, later Crytek UK, Carver has been at Blizzard since 2009, where he’s…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Unpublished Nintendo Comic That Said “S**t”

Howard & Nester was a comic staple of Nintendo Power for much of the magazine’s run, but there’d always been one storyline kept out of the public eye. Until today. This issue was never intended to run in the magazine; instead, it was specially made and given to former Nintendo of America icon Howard Phillips…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Most Arcade Games From The 1980s Have Been Smashed To Pieces

While there are plenty boutique arcades and bars across the world that are home to old Asteroids cabinets, and private collectors who own working versions of Centipede, they account for barely a drop in the ocean of the total number of arcade cabinets manufactured in the 1970s and 80s. We’d like to think those machines…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012

Culture

The Extraordinary Quest to Put All the Super Mario Games On One Timeline

There are at least two timelines on the Internet that put the major Super Mario games in chronological order, as if they happened to one guy named Mario who has been living an extraordinary life. These timeline don’t present Mario as a real man. The people who make these timelines aren’t that free-thinking. But the…

By Stephen Totilo Published September 5, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Street Fighter II’s Vintage Art Book is a Thing of Beauty

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By Luke Plunkett Published September 5, 2012