Culture Archives - Page 1544 of 1557

In Memory of the Original Castle Wolfenstein (the one That Wasn’t In 3D)

It’s a slightly sad quirk of video game history that id Software’s Wolfenstein 3D is lauded as a masterpiece of gaming while the title it was heavily inspired by – name and all – is afforded no such honour. Yet id’s comic blaster owes everything to a stealth game released in 1981 called simply Castle…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2011

Culture

The Monstrous Art of Shadow of the Colossus

Enormous monsters. A haunting landscape. Mysterious figures. All hallmarks of classic PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus, all the stars of this batch of concept art for the game. While there’s been art floating around for a while now (the game was released in 2005, after all), courtesy of promotional material and books from Shadow’s…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2011

Culture

Tony Holmsten’s Video Game Art Is a Final Fantasy

Tony Holmsten, formerly of Sweden now living in Japan, has been working as a video game artist since 2002 at two of Sweden’s biggest studio’s, Battlefield developers DICE and the now-defunct Grin. In that time, he’s done concept art, level art, promo art and lighting for games like Battlefield 2142, Bionic Commando and Fortress, the…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The PlayStation Controller You Never Got to Use

Yesterday, we looked at the PlayStation controllers that Sony has released (or in the Boomerang’s case seriously intended to release) to the public. Today, we’re looking at one that never made it. Before the PlayStation was released in 1994, development kits had to be sent to studios to ensure games would be ready for the…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2011

Culture

The inFamous Video Game Art of Wesley Burt

Wesley Burt is a professional concept artist who works for Massive Black, one of the world’s biggest and most successful concept art studios. In his time there he’s worked on games like inFamous, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Borderlands, Red Faction: Guerilla, inFamous 2 and Kane & Lynch 2 This gallery showcases some of his…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Evolution of the PlayStation Control Pad

It’s perhaps the most iconic design in the world of game controllers, and definitely the longest-serving. Today in Total Recall, we look back at over 15 years of PlayStation control pads. The primary PlayStation controller’s basic appearance has survived with only minor changes since it accompanied the first console to the marketplace all the way…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The World’s First True Shooting Game

While Nintendo was a pioneer of video game light guns, first for its elaborate shooting parlours and then its Zapper for the NES, it didn’t create the first home version of the technology. That honour goes to the aptly-named Shooting Gallery, a hardware/software combo for the Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first home video game console.…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2011

Culture

Summertime in the Arcade

The Arcade Edition of Super Street Fighter IV arrives for Xbox 360 and PS3 this week. Another anticipated drop is the “Annihilation” map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops; it delivers another five maps, one of them a zombie level. After that, you’re looking at maybe Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 Tuesday • Super Street…

By Owen Good Published June 26, 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 June 20. — Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published June 25. — Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published June 26, 2011

Culture

This Week in the Business: “Itching for a while.”

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Wouldn’t want to trade hands.” – Xbox COO Dennis Durkin talks about Microsoft’s position in relation to Sony’s and Nintendo’s. Referring to the PS Vita, he expresses his belief that launching a portable into a red ocean market is not a good…

By Drew Cohen Published June 24, 2011

Culture

The Brutal, Beautiful Video Game Art of Bjorn Hurri

Bjorn Hurri is an artist who has been working on video games for years now, having lent his skills in some way or another to projects like Dead Space 2, Viking: Battle for Asgard and the last three entries in the Total War series. He’s at his best working with people, as most of his…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 24, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Horror of Nintendo’s White Knuckle Scorin

In 1991, before the company realised it was a good idea to pay closer attention to the shit it was licensing its name and characters for, Nintendo gave its blessing for the release of a CD called White Knuckle Scorin While the name and the cover art give faint hope that this might be a…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 24, 2011

Culture

The Towering, Mechanical Art of Killzone 3

The Killzone series may be mired in darkness and a convoluted storyline, but one thing that always keeps me coming back to the games is their industrial design. It has such amazing weapons, vehicles and technology. They look like they’re from the future, sure, but they also look like they work, get dirty and break…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 23, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The End of the World Never Looked (Or Sounded) So Beautiful

Homeworld's apocalypse played out at arm's length, which only made it more agonising

By Luke Plunkett Published June 23, 2011

Culture

The Dangerous Art of Tomb Raider

The new Tomb Raider game flips everything we know about Lara Croft on its head, turning one of gaming’s most dangerous superstars into a broken, vulnerable human being. Just like the rest of us. To really nail that sense that the world is a dangerous place, the game’s artists needed to make sure the landscape…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 22, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

A Look at Decades of Nintendo Controller Innovation

The upcoming Wii U is hoping to change the way we think of controllers forever. Whether it does that or not is anybody’s guess, but if it does, it won’t be the first time Nintendo has pulled off that coup. While Nintendo’s franchises and consoles often get all the praise for the company’s success, let’s…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 22, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Before They Were Famous: id Software

Time for another “before they were famous” here on Total Recall. Last time we looked at Bungie, creators of the Halo franchise. This time? We’re looking at id Software, the team behind Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake I’m going to preface this entire thing by saying that if you’re at all interested in the history of…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 21, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Secret of Star Wars

There are plenty of theories as to why the original Star Wars trilogy has been so successful. Analysis of its “hero’s journey”, its appeal to young and old alike, its timeless tale of good vs evil. I subscribe to a lesser-known theory. That it’s been such a big hit because the original three films were…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 20, 2011

Culture

Song of Time

The long-awaited 3D remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the highlight of the week, and is in stores as we speak. Other notable names include Dungeon Siege III, Shadows of the Damned, the final chapter of Back to the Future: the Game, and Double Fine’s latest Xbox Live title, Trenched Today…

By Owen Good Published June 19, 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 June 13. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published June 13. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published June 19, 2011