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The People and Places of Crysis 2

Today at Fine Art we’re looking at the work of Daniel Rizea, who in the last few years has provided art for games like Crysis, Crysis 2 and Crytek’s upcoming fantasy title Ryse Rizea hasn’t always been at the PC powerhouse; he got his start at Ubisoft, where he worked on Blazing Angels, Silent Hunter…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Let’s Go Shopping For Video Games! (In the 1980’s and 1990’s)

Ah, paper catalogues. They still make them, but they’re not what they used to be. What are now glossy prints highlighting only a select few items from a store used to be informational tomes, full of almost everything you could ever want. And we all wanted video games, right? These catalogues, mostly from US retailer…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 2, 2011

Culture

The Amazing Concept Art of Deus Ex: Human Revolution

It’s the flavour of the week here at Kotaku, and to echo Kirk’s glowing review, every second I’ve been awake and not working I’ve been walking up to people and saying hello there have yo-ELBOW KNIVES. So now is as good a time as any to look at some of the gorgeous concept art for…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 1, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

What Makes the Mother Series so Great?

They may not be chart-toppers – indeed, the third game has never even been officially released in the West – but the Mother/Earthbound series of role-playing games are some of the most revered and cherished of all Nintendo games (at least among certain cliques). There’s a very good reason why this is. And it has…

By Luke Plunkett Published September 1, 2011

Culture

Gameloft Games Look Better at the Concept Art Stage [Update]

Mobile publisher Gameloft gets a lot of bad press for the way its games borrow visual and design cues from popular console titles. Its popular NOVA series, for example, is really HALO in all but name. Or so it is by the time it hits your phone’s screen. At the concept art stage, things are…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Remembering The House That Civilization Built

I don’t tend to truly miss many video game studios. Businesses come and go, their developers move on, make new stuff, the world keeps spinning. But on a weekly basis I find myself missing Microprose, who gave us Civilization. And X-Com. And Master of Orion. And Railroad Tycoon. And Master of Magic. And Falcon 4.0.…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 31, 2011

Culture

Where Can You Find Nazis, EVE Online and the Beautiful Adrift all In the one Spot?

Why, right here of course, in the latest instalment of Fine Art, Kotaku’s daily look at the concept art of video games. Today we’re admiring the work of French artist Michel Koch, currently an art director at Dontnod Entertainment, developers of the wonderful-looking Adrift, and a man who has previously worked on titles like RUSE…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 30, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

There Were Worse Mario Cartoons Than the American One

It has a certain nostalgic charm, yeah, but lets face it, the American Super Mario Bros. cartoons were pretty terrible. Poorly animated, poorly written, poorly voiced. Next to the Japanese Mario cartoon, though, the American version looks like it was made by Disney. Premièring around the same time as America’s The Super Mario Bros. Super…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 30, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Hip Tanaka Is A Nintendo Legend

He may not sit in the limelight like some of the company’s other legendary names like Miyamoto, Yokoi or Iwata, but make no mistake: Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka is one of the most important men to have ever worked at Nintendo. Especially if you like music. Or Pokémon! Born in December 1957, Tanaka is a lifelong…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 29, 2011

Culture

Midsummer Madness

A holiday for many sports gamers, Madden NFL 12‘s release moved to the final Tuesday of August to position it closer to the league’s opening day, which is Sept. 8. The 23rd edition of EA Sports’ venerable football franchise is still the week’s headline release. Monday • Achron (PC) Tuesday • Madden NFL 12 (360,…

By Owen Good Published August 28, 2011

CultureShop Contest

Up on the Roof

This week’s challenge comes again from Kotaku’s travels, but fear not, we’re not doing cosplay exploitables again. We’ll shelve that idea for a while. This time, we’re gonna throw a roof party for Nintendo of America’s super-duper green headquarters That is one of the few images we were authorized to show of Nintendo’s home turf—get…

By Owen Good Published August 28, 2011

Culture

Sunday Comics: Hello, Hello Kitty

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 Aug. 22. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Aug. 26. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published August 28, 2011

Culture

This Week in the Business

QUOTE | “Henry Ford of the personal computer industry.” – Following the sudden resignation of Steve Jobs, analysts weigh in on the legacy of the Apple CEO and what’s in store for Apple’s future. QUOTE | “Kevin Butler’s new upstart career.” – Say what? Sony’s humorous PlayStation promoter now lists himself as President of Economy…

James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published August 26, 2011

Culture

The Luscious Art of Trine 2

Normally here on Fine Art, we showcase the fruits of video game artists working on titles that are already out. That’s not the case today. Instead, we’re getting a look at the art of an upcoming title, and a beautiful one to boot: that of Trine 2, sequel to the wonderful 2009 co-op platformer Trine…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 26, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

When Pokémon Got a Little Too Nazi Germany

Pokémon. It’s a card (and video) game for kids. You capture monsters, they faint a lot, it’s all good, clean, harmless fun. Right? Well, mostly. Except for a few occasions where the series has been in trouble in the West for allegedly using Nazi imagery. Since the franchise debuted in the 1990s, there have been…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 26, 2011

Culture

Guild Wars 2’s Art Just Won’t Stop Pleasing Our Eyeballs

We’ve featured the concept art of Guild Wars 2 here twice before, showcasing the talents of concept artists Levi Hopkins and Kekai Kotaki. Today, then, let’s do it a third and final time. Think of it as a trilogy, with the final act the contributions of the series’ Creative Director, Daniel Dociu. Dociu, born in…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 25, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Strange, Sad Case of the North American Super Nintendo

This week is the, believe it or not, 20th anniversary of the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. It’s a cause for celebration, of course, but also makes me wonder why Nintendo decided to bless America with its own “unique” version of the console. When Nintendo released the Famicom in Japan…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 25, 2011

Culture

Body Modification

Deus Ex: Human Revolution leads us back to the land of big release weeks, serving up the third game in the Deus Ex series and, canonically, the prequel to the first. Other names of note include another map pack from Call of Duty: Black Ops and Street Fighter III‘s “Third Strike” Online Edition. Tuesday •…

By Owen Good Published August 21, 2011

Culture

Sunday Comics: The Best of Burdened

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 Aug. 15. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Aug. 19. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published August 21, 2011

Culture

Adrift Makes a Dirty Future Look Beautiful

Look out! It’s a special Gamescom edition of Fine Art! And when we’re talking about Dontnod’s Adrift, fine is the optimal word. As we saw in the game’s debut trailer, all that’s been released so far of Adrift’s vision of a future Paris is concept art. Which for a feature about concept art is fine…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 20, 2011