Kotaku

Is this a dream? Am I lying in a coma somewhere imagining this is the trailer to a game I fantasised about throughout my childhood?


No! It's Starship Corporation, a game where the design of big spaceships (and "planetary installations") isn't just something tacked on, it's what the entire game is about.


Players are tasked with designing the floorplans and systems of a ship, then testing it out under a variety of combat and non-combat situations, before finally being able to sell and buy creations to help fund your, well, Starship Corporation.


You can check out a long, and very informative trailer above, and check out more on the game below.


Starship Corporation [Official Site]


Kotaku

Athletes still do a pretty poor job in commercials in the 21st century. So as you can probably imagine, in the 1970s, they were terrible.


This Atari clip from 1978 featured baseball star Pete Rose, football legend Pelé and...Don Knotts. OK, so Don did just fine, but he was an actor, not a sportsman.


1978 Atari Commercial With Pete Rose, Pelé, And Don Knotts [Retroist]


Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You'll find Total Recall stories every Tue-Fri between 1am -2am Eastern.
Kotaku
Taito's Love Affair With Old Jackie Chan MoviesWhat kind of developers have the peanuts to rip off Jackie Chan not once, but twice, at the same time? Taito have the peanuts, that's who.


This image is from Silent Dragon, a side-scroller Taito released in 1992. The blue dude on the left may look familiar to anyone who's seen Jackie Chan's awesome Big Brawl, because the pose is lifted straight from the movie's poster.


The gentleman on the right? He's not just bearing Chan's likeness, he's copying another pose of his, this time from The Jackie Chan Digest, a soundtrack compilation from his early movies released in 1983.


You could scold Taito for failing to come up with their own martial arts poses (and faces!), but really, in some ways it's an improvement. Chan wasn't brave enough to wear those massive headbands, and Silent Dragon was all the better for them.


Silent Dragon [Scoll Like a Boss]
Silent Dragon [VGJunk]



Taito's Love Affair With Old Jackie Chan Movies


Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You'll find Total Recall stories every Tue-Fri between 1am -2am Eastern.
Kotaku

Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall MovieStephan Martiniere is a long-serving concept artist who has worked on some of the biggest (or best) movies of the past fifteen years, from the new Star Wars movies to Fifth Element to Tron Legacy.


He also served as art director on id's 2011 shooter Rage (Stephen interviewed him a few years back about the project), and also worked on games like Stranglehold and Area 51. What we're here for today, though, is his work on the Total Recall reboot which hit US cinemas last week.


Say what you will about the movie itself - and opinions are a little mixed - the world Martiniere helped create is a gorgeous one, and for gamers is something that instantly brings to mind recent titles like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Syndicate.


"The world in Total Recall is architecturally very unique, its a multi level environment blending modern and neo classic architecture", Martiniere tells Kotaku. "Buildings are built above or hanging under huge platforms or levels stacked in complex arrangements."


"I was concentrating on establishing an environment that felt both intricate, busy and cohesive, a world that was familiar but also would take your breath away."


Stephen is currently a creative consultant for Frima's concept art and film effects divisions. You can see more of his work (for movies, games and all kinds of other stuff) at his personal site.


To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab".


Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios. If you're in the business and have some concept, environment or character art you'd like to share, drop us a line!

Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie Exclusive: Killer Concept Art From The New Total Recall Movie


Kotaku

A Diablo III Statue That'll Probably Gross You OutWhile official statues based on Diablo III restrict themselves to more presentable characters, fan-made pieces are free to go after anyone they want. Like, oh, Azmodan, the Lord of Sin.


It was built by master craftsman (and Art Director for Blizzard's Diablo III: The Book of Cain) Jason Babler, and stands 17" tall. Oh, and it also lights up with LEDs.


My Diablo III Sculpture: Azmodan [MAKE]



A Diablo III Statue That'll Probably Gross You Out A Diablo III Statue That'll Probably Gross You Out A Diablo III Statue That'll Probably Gross You Out A Diablo III Statue That'll Probably Gross You Out
Kotaku

DayZ Has Now Scared One Million People WitlessIn case you needed further proof of the strength of the PC market, or the importance of allowing mods in PC games, DayZ - a zombie survival sim for hardcore military shooter ArmA II - has just recorded its millionth unique player.


Not bad for something that's really only hit the big time in the last few months.


What's most impressive about that tally is how it's driven sales of ArmA II. There's no way people can pirate copies of the core game and then just grab DayZ; Bohemia Interactive use one of the most effective - and comedic - forms of DRM around that, instead of blocking access to their games, simply degrades player performance to the point where they either rage out or go and actually buy a copy.


DayZ Mod [DayZ]


Kotaku

Amazon Leaks Wii U Box Art Designs? [Update]Given the fact these may well be placeholder images, don't read too much into them, but just in case they're the real deal, what do you think of the splash? And the colour scheme?


The yellow is a bit weird, but the "swoosh" design is something we've seen from Nintendo plenty of times before, from the spine of DS games to the top of GameCube covers.


We're asking Nintendo for clarification, and will update if we hear back.


UPDATE - Target now has images of the same art, this time showing the game's spine as well.


Wii U



Amazon Leaks Wii U Box Art Designs? [Update] Amazon Leaks Wii U Box Art Designs? [Update] Amazon Leaks Wii U Box Art Designs? [Update]
Kotaku

The New York Times Puts The Fastest Olympians In History Into One Massive RaceHere's something for history nerds, Olympics nerds, and track and field nerds. The New York Times has put together a startlingly cool multimedia presentation that puts all of the past winners of the 100 meter sprint into a single virtual race together. (I'll also take this opportunity to remind you to watch out for more Kotaku video game reviews in this week's Times.)


Humans are like PCs, I suppose—faster and faster, until the older models look positively pokey by comparison. Come on Tom Burke, Bolt is making you look like a joke!


It's a great way to wrap up the Olympics, particularly because thanks to this whole "not having cable" thing, my enjoyment of the games has been somewhat limited. Mostly to rewatching Elsa Garcia's wicked cool Zelda gymnastic routine.


Did you ever run track and field? If so, what event? Will humans keep on getting faster and faster until the end of time, or will we begin to regress at some point? Feel free to discuss that, or anything else you please, here or over in the Talk Amongst Yourselves forum. Have good chatting, and be excellent to one another.


One Race, Every Medalist Ever. [NY Times]


Half-Life

Were it not for the core Half-Life series itself, Black Mesa: Source - a fan-made remake of the original Half-Life - might well be the longest-running tease in video games today.


Having been in development for around eight years now, and still not out, you'd be forgiven for thinking the project was never going to come out.


That said, this clip - submitted to fansite ValveTime by an "anonymous reader" - claims to show over three minutes of gameplay footage from the mod, showcasing not only its visuals, but a few changes as well, like an iron sight for the .357 Magnum (which replaces the gun's standard "zoom").


Nobody has any idea how old the footage is, so for all we know it could be from 2008. Or 2012. Or the distant future, where humans toil for our alien overlords in vast underground salt mines, and Black Mesa: Source still isn't out.


Mass Effect (2007)

The Cutest, Cuddliest Krogan (and Turian, and Asari) You Ever Will See There are some really cute characters in the Mass Effect series. Liara has charmed many a Shepard with her smile, as has Garrus with his.


But there's cute, and then there's adorable. Like these handmade Mass Effect plushie characters. They aren't for sale, sadly, because they simply take too much time to make. But one patient crafter has made herself a veritable cuddly, squeezable rogue's gallery of Shepard's friends, allies, and even antagonists. Urnot Wrex has never looked quite so squeezable, to say nothing of fuzzy, adorable Grunt. Even the disapproving and sardonic Aria T'Loak looks like she'd be fun to hug.


To see a handful of other favorites from ME2 and ME3, check out the artist's gallery.


Viciouspretty's gallery [DeviantArt]


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