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Concept Art
The Secret Interior of a Vogon Captain's Quarters
The other day we told you about the artwork created specifically for an online version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game that was created for the new BBC editions of the Hitchhiker's radio drama that came out a few years ago. This image, featuring a cartoony version of the Vogon Captain's quarters, was part of a set created for the same game. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by LicenseFarm: HHGTTG the flame thrower! (The kids love this one.) Don't forget h2g2.com, the wiki version of the guide that Adams himself launched... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
What If The Moon Crashed Into The Earth?
Well, we'd be screwed for one thing. Plus it's doubtful that the chunks of the moon would remain identifiable and intact like they are in this piece of concept art... but it's still haunting and beautiful. It's strange to imagine something that's been hanging in the sky your whole life plummeting into your world, but that's exactly what's happened in "Moon Crash 1: Winter." More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Discodave: R.O.A.C.H. M.O.T.E.L.: @ ideaman2020 when I asked her about X-Men she said "Sure, there's Harry my first baby's daddy, Willy the guy I... more » | Other threads
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Takashi Murakami
Murakami Tells io9 About His Secret Love For J.J. Abrams
We had a chance to see the amazingly eye-blistering @ Murakami exhibit in Los Angeles a couple of months ago before they packed everything up and headed to Brooklyn. The same exhibit is now on display at the Brooklyn Museum until July 13th, and is definitely worth checking out. We nabbed a few moments with Takashi Murakami and found out about his influences, his impressions of the show, and how his brain works when he's creating something. Check out our interview down below. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Jeff-Minor: I dunno. I has elements of beauty that I like, but other parts just strike me the wrong way. Which... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Inside the Heart of Gold That You Never Saw
If you haven't seen the BBC television version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then you need to get off your lazy duff and give it a whirl. It's extremely different from the movie version, and much closer to the novels and radio drama. Probably the best thing about it is the Guide itself, complete with amazing 2D animations depicting whatever the book is droning on about. Like the spaceship Heart of Gold, pictured here. Check out the glorious old school animation style that makes up the Bambleweeny 57 sub-meson Brain, which powers the Infinite Improbability Drive. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by CSX321: The Hitchhiker's Guide books are what I turn to when I want an easy read and fun escape. My wife... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Raiders of the Lost Saucer!
What would have happened if Raiders of the Lost Ark met Sid and Marty Krotfft's Lost Saucer? It might have looked a little something like this. Of course, you might have a chance to see this scene for real if the rumors about extraterrestrials in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are to be believed. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by strangrnstranglnd: Maybe it's more like a flare than a torch? Did they have flares in the 1940's? 1 Responses | Other threads
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Concept Art
The Massive Solar-Orbiting Electro-Mechanical Analytic Engine, Mark 6
In some circles of the steampunk Star Wars universe this is known as the "Death Star," and it generates billions of calculations all day long in an effort to work with Arcane Mathematics and find a "Unified Force Theory" that can destroy entire planets. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Jeff-Minor: why not just make it from stone? How stupid. more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Damn Kids Joyriding Again in their Flying Cars
Once we finally have flying cars, authorities are going to have a bitch of a time keeping people from doing what these two hotshot pilots are planning: scaring the ever-living shit out of a pleasure boater. Granted, these are minijets with funky wings and not flying cars, but it makes you think about what might start happening in the skies once anyone can just flit around. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by RAHfanboy: @strider_mt2k: I remember Gil the ARM. He was a one armed policeman who had a phantom arm that, due... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Oops, A Robot Accidentally Killed Queen
The coolest thing about the cover artwork for Queen's 1977 album News of the World was that it was inspired by a cover from the October 1953 edition of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (later called Analog). The caption for the image was "Please... fix it, Daddy?" More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by ideaman2020: Best. Queen. Album. Ever. PS. Always loved/was-creeped-out-by the cover, too. 1 Responses | Other threads
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Concept Art
Getting Ready for the Final Battle
This looks like the poster for an awesome science fiction film that we'd like to see: a girl in a giant hulking exoskeletal suit of armor with her comic-effect tiny little robotic pal perched on her shoulder. You've got evil signified by the pouring lava on the left hand side of the background, while fighters triumphantly scream past a proud city on the right. Whatever is happening here, we want to know more. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by themysteriousx: Why are we presuming that the character is a girl? Outside of pre-existing potential reference points, it could be a... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Not A Bad Place To Crash a Spaceship
It's not clear if the two travelers in this concept art have crashed into this glowing cavern, or if that's simply their parking place. Maybe there's a swarm of flesh-peeling mites just out of view, but it looks like a good place for an adventure to us. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Ninjabear: The Derelict's pilot by H. R. Giger for sure but it looks like marathon. Those bobs should soak up the... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Wall-E Goes Terminator on Your Ass
This summer's animated robot superstar Wall-E threatens to squash us under his mammoth treads and obliterate us with his laser blast. In these new screens from the upcoming game to coincide with the film, the cuddly bot has whipped out some sort of a beam weapon and he's using it to destroy something just offscreen while a terrified Other-Bot cowers in the rafters above. Does cute little Wall-E have a vicious streak that we weren't aware of previously? Click through for more game screens, which showcase some key moments from the film and give more clues to Wall-E's unsuspected abilities. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Tim Faulkner: His unsuspected ability is scratching his head? more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Build Your Home In TunnelSpace!
NASA churned out a lot of concept art in the 1970s while the agency was exploring ways to build colonies in space. NASA concept artists created trippy pieces like the Cynlidrical Colony above, and Torodial and Bernal Sphere colonies as well. We'd like to imagine that you could low-grav the whole thing, and just leap from one side of the colony to the other. Of course, it's not quite clear what would happen if you ran into one of those giant window sections. Hopefully they're made out of some synthetic diamond material to keep accidents from happening. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Spoony Bard: This is exactly how I pictured the cylinders of Rama as well. Well, in the 3 sequels to Rendezvous with... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
Massive Half-Life 2 Drydock Needs Defense and Some Paint
This is a drydock in HullBreach, a complete conversion for the Half-Life 2 video game. The team has an ambitious goal of creating 100% new content for the game, and they've been hard at work on it for several years. The game is set 2,000 years in our future, and involves a bloody world war that threatens to engulf the planet. So the upshot is, even 2,000 years from now, we won't be getting along. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Tenshi21: @Garrison Dean: All the laser weapons were destroyed in the Second Coming of Christ in 2443. more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
A Lovely Autumn Walk in the Park with a Robotank
That hulking tankbot might look scary as hell if he were all alone, but somehow those falling leaves make the piece seem calm and serene. Bizarre, isn't it? German concept artist Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe loves robots, gaming, and creating art. He's got everything from concept art, to finished digital designs to his own manga on his website, and he's currently working on a science fiction-themed short film called Dark Elephant by ILM animator David Weinstein. He's a fan of moody and cold scifi shots, and he's definitely managed to capture that in this piece. More » -
Concept Art
Overpopulated Floating Cities Threaten To Obliterate The Sun
This piece of conceptual art, entitled "We Never Learn," shows a dangerously overpopulated world with floating cities, parks, and layers that threaten to blot out the sky. Of course, that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to live there, flying cars and all. Although if you hit the ball out of one of those parks, good luck getting it back. And life on one of those lower levels is probably a horrible experience, at best. You not only get all the falling detritus from above, but very little sunshine as well. Still, for some reason the whole thing is hauntingly beautiful. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by MickyK: It kind of reminds me of the world in the 5th element, where society abandons ground level construction and started... more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
A Spaceship On Fire Off The Shoulder Of Orion
Actually, we aren't sure if this is Orion, but we just couldn't pass up a nice Blade Runner reference. This spaceship or space station looks like it's been attacked and is about to fall victim to the gravity of the planet below, and it couldn't be more beautiful. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by PreDefined: I first saw it in here: [www.amazon.com] A great art book if you can find it. more » | Other threads
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G.I. Joe
New Pictures of Snake-Eyes Costume Meet Your Futuristic Ninja Needs
You can finally take a gander at photos of "Darth Maul/The Toad" Ray Park in his full Snake-Eyes costume from the upcoming G.I. Joe film, and we grudgingly have to admit that he looks fairly badass. Even though his visor looks a bit like Geordi's from Star Trek: The Next Generation, we'd never tell him that to his face. If we did, he'd either gut us with his sword, pop a cap in our ass with his gun, or possibly do both. Check out another Snake-tastic picture after the jump. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by FletcherEetion: Some awesome set costume. Neat. more » | Other threads
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Concept Art
The Tomorrow War Looks Good Today
One of the best parts of video-game classic Mass Effect was the ability to take your ship to different planets throughout the galaxy, and actually touch down, get out and explore the places. A new game, The Tomorrow War, takes that concept and expands on it exponentially, giving you a virtual sandbox of systems and worlds to explore. Of course, if you have to dole out some Soviet-style ass-kicking in the process, then so be it. At least you'll be tooling around in this cruiser that looks a lot like the U.S.S. Sulaco from Aliens. Check out a full gallery of new images from this game below. More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by Spakkenkhrist: Nobody has mentioned Frontier, this makes me sad. more » | Other threads
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triviagasm
The Secret Origin of the Ray Gun in Science Fiction
We've told you all about our favorite rayguns, blasters, flechette pistols, and laser guns before, but where did they all come from? Laser pistols are as identifiable with science fiction as rocketships, aliens, and robots, even though the first laser wasn't invented until 1960. So what spurred science fiction writers to start arming their characters with atomic blasters and disintegrator rays? More »
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By Kevin KellyComment by phoghat: @EmperorofMongo: When I was a kid I loved the Flash Gordon serials, and having NO money I made some of... more » | Other threads
San Francisco, 10:01 AM
Sun Jul 5
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