Posted By Chris Perkins on April 4, 2014

It’s that time again… welcome to another brand spanking new edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular guide to what’s new in the world of videogame fandom, including cosplay, fanart, fan films and more!   If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

You can now order an (unofficial) Power Mitt Oven Glove! The project has already met it’s goal with more than a month to go….

 

Is this the best geeky baby announcement, ever? Could just be!

 

Thirsty? Why not try a Super Mario inspired cocktail from Geek and Sundry?

Incredible League of Legends cosplay featuring Katarina. [Fashionably Geek]

There were an awful lot of April Fools gags online on April 1st, but did you see Google’s brilliant Pokemon themed one?

This Geek-tastic couple put on a fantastically inventive World Of Warcraft themed wedding!

Sneaky Zebra have put together another awesome cosplay music video- this time from London’s Super Comic Con 2014. If you were there, maybe you can spot yourself!

As well a being an excellent author and blogger, Robin Burks is also a talented cosplayer. She sent us over this supremely creepy Bioshock Splicer cosplay!

Stunning Final Fantasy VII art from Eddy Shinjuku. Sure to dig up old memories for many of you!

Excellent music parody and some every talented cosplayers brought together in this rather wonderful parody of Pharell William’s hit single Happy.

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Categories: Gaming, Main Sections
Tags: cosplay, fanart, final fantasy VII, league of legends, Mario, Pokemon, world of warcraft

Posted By Chris Perkins on March 15, 2014

Welcome to another brand new edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

Hot Topic are selling this ace Legend Of Zelda tank top [Fashionably Geek].

 

Twitch Plays Pokemon has inspired some rather nifty fan art from Sa-Dui.

 

Check out this amazing Super Mario/ Star Wars mashup from Ript apparel. [Shirtoid]

Get up to speed with Titanfall in a minute….

 

Glorious comic from the epically talented Mr Zac Gorman of Magical Game Time.

This Tekken inspired  Cosplay action shot from Deviantartist Vaxzone is pretty damn impressive.

Not everything here on Bonus Stage is brand spanking new, sometimes I come across an undiscovered gem from the past that I just have to share- and here’s a great example of just that. A few years back a talented musician by the name of Levar Allen made this inspired track using samples from classic Mario games. Check it out!

Gender-swapped Connor Kenway Cosplay from Assassin’s Creed III.

The latest release from the always awesome Smooth McGroove is the Dungeon Theme from the Legend of Zelda. Fantastic stuff as always!

 

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Categories: Gaming, Main Sections
Tags: assassin's creed, comics, cosplay, fan music, fan videos, fanart, Legend of Zelda, Mario, Pokemon, smooth mcgroove, Tekken, twitch plays pokemon, zac gorman

Posted By Chris Perkins on February 27, 2014

Welcome to another brand new edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

Keep snug and warm and geeky with this Okami cosplay blanket!

Cosplay is an equal opportunities hobby, even though the ladies get more attention.  Rick Boer  is one male cosplayer who has got a lot of attention for his excellent Solid Snake portrayal, and he featured in the earlier incarnation of this very column. Now he’s back, this time bringing to life Snake as seen in the forthcoming Metal Gear Solid V!

Fabulous League Of Legends fanart from the super talented Carlos Morilla.

Dark Souls reimagined as an 80′s movie… genius!

The perfect pet for every gamer.. smart comic from Dorkly.

Mischievous French Prankster Remi Gaillard is best known for his notorious Pacman antics. More recently he’s been causing trouble while dressed as another gaming icon in the form of Sonic The Hedgehog. It starts off funny, but it does have a crude ending with more adult humour- you have been warned!

Tasha Cosplay makes a mighty fine version of Queen Of Pain from DOTA 2.

Bonus Stage favourites Screen Team have another fantastic game related parody video.. but not just any game related parody video. No, folks this is the Ultimate Pokemon Parody Medely no less! Featuring songs parodying Miley Cyrus, Passenger, Katy Perry and more…

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Categories: Gaming, Main Sections, Nerd Life
Tags: comics, DOTA 2, fan music, fanart, games, LoL, Metal gear solid, Okami, Pokemon

Posted By Chris Perkins on February 14, 2014

…. And we’re back! Pardon the interruption but your regularly scheduled Bonus Stage is here once again to chase away those Winter Blues! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

 

Check out this amazing World of Warcraft Cosplay by Oshley as seen on Geek X Girls.

This Alternative Universe re-imagining of The Legend Of Zelda’s Link and Zelda by DeviantArtist Split-heart (aka Alice) are wonderfully done. You can check out more of her work on her profile.

For good or ill the short-lived Flappy Bird has perhaps been the most talked about game so-far in 2014. Before the creator pulled the plug (to save gamers from addiction) it inspired this excellent parody song from Dave Days.

By the Way, if Flappy Bird’s demise has left you feeling crestfallen then Seasame Street is here to help- it’s Flappy Bert!

Awesome Zelda Valentines cards from finni

New Sonic the Hedgehog game Sonic Boom has got a lot of fans upset, but there are plenty who are digging the new style the Blue Blur is sporting. There’s already some fantastic fan-art to prove it- just check out this excellent piece from Yuski.

Just in time for Valentine’s Shutterstock produced an inspired set of video gaming based romantic novel covers!

Relax in these custom made Portal inspired Lounge pants from Jinx! Buy them here. Via Fashionably Geek.

More Zelda! This Time it’s a brilliant fan film from the guys at Mars Rising. If you want to see them make more, make sure you subscribe to their channel!

This came out ages ago, but somehow we managed to let it slip under our radar. We love Mario and we love game inspired music, so this music video from Patent Pending is right up our alley, and we think you’ll enjoy it too!

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Categories: Gaming, Nerd Life
Tags: Bonus Stage, cosplay, fan art, fan films, music, videogames

Posted By Chris Perkins on January 24, 2014

Welcome Back Nerdspanners for another look back at the greatest gaming related fan-made stuff with the second part of our bumper-sized Best of Bonus stage 2013! There will be plenty of new stuff coming soon, but in the meantime we’re going to be highlighting our fave stuff from last year.

Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, and maybe it will feature in a future instalment.

A very clever chap has managed to create a giant LEGO NES controller. The most impressive part is it is fully functional.

Lovely gender-swapped Mario Cosplay set from GeekXGirls.

 

 

Ever wondered what Mario would look like as a bad-ass action movie? Me neither, but that doesn’t stop this web series Mario Warfare being  awesome.  Visit the Beatdownboogie channel for more episodes, behind the scenes and more…

 

UK based Gamer Print have this gorgeous range of Zelda inspired Hyrule Travel posters. You can grab them as prints, postcards, or even iPhone cases. Check them all out. [Geekologie]

A talented bunch on Youtube named The Game Station have made a Zelda fan-film- that re-imagines the series as a western. The trailer for A Fistful of Rupees is here. The production values and acting are a step above many fan films. The whole thing can be watched on their Youtube channel.

 

“Snaaaaaaaake!” Check out this fantastic Solid Snake Cosplayer, who has pretty much captured everybody’s fave stealthy soldier perfectly. [Kotaku]

Musicians David Choi and Paul Dateh recorded this lovely rendition of the Super Mario Land (for Game Boy) theme music!

 

From the Bonus Stage Archive: Cosplay superstar Jessica Nigri showed off this fantastic gender-swapped Fox McCloud (Starfox) at the 2012 New York Comiccon.

Check out this beautiful custom-made Petey Piranha (Mario series) dress made by Subtle Nerd.

 

Stunning and poignant Lemmings comic from the wonderful Zac Gorman [Magical Game Time]

This fantastic short brings together two great nerdy obsessions, Nintendo and Star Wars. Check it out!

Incredible “Real-Life” Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite art by the amazing Maohwolf .

The thoroughly talented geeky power-couple Screen Team were one of the earliest Bonus Stage discoveries, going back to even before the column came to NerdSpan, so it’s great to be able to feature another great work from them. This time it’s a tribute to Smash Bros. The work that’s gone in to every second of this video is a thing to behold!

The Legend Of Zelda’s Link reimagined as a Steam-Punk character. See more pics here.

Why you should never buy a (modern) console at launch…

Aussie artist Patrick Brown is one of GTA’s biggest fans. He’s produced some fantastic art based on the franchise, and this recent piece was created to celebrate the eagerly anticipated fifth game!

Check out this wonderful animation First Person Goomba. Showing the life of Mario’s most downtrodden enemy from their perspective, it’s both funny and surprisingly poignant. Next time you stomp a Goomba, you might think twice… Fantastic stuff from the incredibly talented Filipe Costa.

Part one

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Categories: Gaming, Nerd Life
Tags: bioshock, Bonus Stage, cosplay, fan films, fanart, GTA V, jessica nigri, Lemmings, Mario, Metal gear solid, NES, star fox, video games, Zelda

Posted By Chris Perkins on January 9, 2014

It’s 2014? How did that happen? 2013 was a great year for gamers and was therefore a great year for Bonus Stage. In 2013 we moved here to the wonderful NerdSpan (after the demise of Rant Gaming left us homeless) and we’ve felt very at home, so thanks for having us readers! There will be plenty of brand new game-related fan-art, cosplay, videos and music this year, but before that we’re going to reflect on the year just gone, with the first part of our bumper-sized Best of Bonus stage 2013!

Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, and maybe it will feature in a future instalment.

Pacman ate my Father, by Sebastien Millon.

Read artists Ehud Lavski’s ace Space Invaders comic story, told from the perspective of an Invader. You’ll never look at that game in the same way again!

From the Bonus Stage archive comes this classic short. Titled Old School Vs New School, it’s a mightily impressive short pitting characters from Space Invaders, Centipede and other games from the dark ages against the likes of Halo’s Masterchief, Nathan Drake from Uncharted and a (rather lovely) Lara Croft. It comes courtesy of Youtube sensation Freddie Wong and if you haven’t already done so, you need to see it as a gamer! It’s probably better than any of the video game movies that Hollywood are  working on will turn out to be.

Geek X Girls did this fantastic Pokemon Trainer Photoshoot. More Here

Kody Koala made this one-off customised Hungry Hungry Hippos, featuring those pesky Koopa Kids from the Mario games. How cool? I’m not sure there is a word yet coined that can convey it’s awesomosity. More photos

Singer/songwriter Sam Hart is a talented young fellow who has been winning fans on YouTube for some time. Many people discovered him thanks to this- The Mario Kart Love Song. Simultaneously cute, funny and oddly moving, it’s an absolute classic from the Bonus Stage Archives. The song is available on iTunes too!

Drop everything because you need to see this, now! First Person Mario: Endgame is an incredible piece of animation and is exactly what it sounds like. It comes from Effects whiz (and Bonus Stage regular) Freddie Wong.

Gorgeous Legend of Zelda comic from the super-talented Zac Gorman [Magical Game Time]

Nerd Band Nerd Alert wrote this great love song from the perspective of gaming’s most famous player two, Luigi. Fantastic stuff !

Classic Tomb Raider Cosplay with the gorgeous TanyaCroft.

Artist Joseph Baranowski made this brilliant set of Pacman propaganda posters.

 

Poke-tastic Cosplay: Pokemon Black and White’s Hilda.

More from the Bonus Stage archives- a stone-cold classic music video!  This unbelievable Mario Acapella medley comes courtesy of Trudbol & Nick McKaig, and will make you ridiculously happy.

 

Jawdropping Alice :Madness Returns  cosplay from the lovely Ryltha von Felis.

This work of genius reimagines BioShock as a Dr Seuss book. Coming courtesy of artist DrFaustus, you can check out his gallery for more games and geek movies and comics given the Seussian treatment.

 

 

Much in the same vein, animator Joebot created these prints turning video games (including Bioshock again) into children’s book covers. You can buy them as prints from him site.

 

Take a look at the gloriously cool StarFox fan art from a Japanese artist named Inubuki.

Beautiful but deadly.. Don’t mess with this Kasumi (Dead Or Alive) Cosplayer.

Finally, something from the archives. You may well be familiar with talented singer/songwriter Sam Hart from his classic Mario Kart Love Song. Less well-known is his later song about another big Nintendo franchise, Pokemon. A touching ode about the evolution of Pikachu (sniff) it’s another work of genius from Mr Hart.

 

Categories: Gaming, Main Sections
Tags: Alice Madness Returns, bioshock, cosplay, dead or alive, fan art, Freddie Wong, mario kart, pacman, Pokemon, Sam Hart, space invaders, star fox, tomb raider, Zelda

Posted By Chris Perkins on December 24, 2013

We are back again with a very special festive edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment.

Thanks for everyone who supported Bonus Stage during 2013! This will be our last (regular) edition of the year, but we’ll be back in 2014! In Bonus Stage this time:

Make your Christmas tree nerd-tastic with these sweet retro gaming decorations! [Retro to go]

If you don’t enjoy this 8-bit recreation of modern Christmas classic film Elf, then you’re a cotton-headed ninny muggins.

Nifty videogame themed Christmas cards from Gamerprint.

A lovely Lara Croft with a Christmasy twist from TanyaCroft.

Lovely Christmas Okami art by LuLu.

Technically this isn’t videogame related, but this is NerdSpan and c’mon… it’s Christmas!

Funny comic from LifeInAggro … that’s satire folks!

 

Classy Christmas Kingdom Hearts Cosplay from Sakura Cherry

 

Merry Christmas folks (or Happy Holidays!) from Bonus Stage!

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Categories: Gaming, Nerd Life
Tags: cosplay, fanart, videos

Posted By Chris Perkins on December 13, 2013

After a short unplanned sabbatical due to IRL unpleasantness, we are back again with another new edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

 

Brilliant Cosplay of Tallis from Dragon Age II by Pink Justice Cosplay.

 

This fantastic short brings together two great nerdy obsessions, Nintendo and Star Wars. Check it out!

Pokéball engagement rings, are  super effective. [Fashionably Geek]

Stunning League Of Legends fanart from Kureiya.

An awesome designer by the name of Robert Bacon has done this rendering of the New York Subway map in the style of Super Mario World. You can pick yours up from the fine folks over at Riptapparal.

VGX: why Video Games Deserve Better.

Super Mario 3D World the musical comes from frequent Bonus Stage stars the AV Byte Brothers.

Now you can even wash in a nerdy way with these ace retro cartridge soaps!

Check out this gorgeous Assassin’s Creed IV Cosplay from Alexa Karii [Geek X Girls]

This rather marvellous musical number pays tribute to more than 30 years of gaming history, using quotes from your favourite games. [DWP]

 

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Categories: Gaming, Nerd Life
Tags: Bonus Stage, cosplay, fanart fan videos

Posted By Chris Perkins on October 31, 2013

Welcome once again to yet another edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time: it’s a Halloween Special!

This Silent Hill Nurse cosplay will give you the willies. It’s almost too good. *shudder*. See more pics at Geek X Girls

Brilliant Resident Evil 3 fanart from Cuson.

More creepy cosplay, this time inspired by Fatal Frame/Project Zero

This Ico Pumpkin is just one of the many awesome gaming pumpkins carved by the super-talented Ceemdee

Resident Evil- How It should have ended.

Much less scary, but no less excellent Cosplay, this time from Capcom’s Darkstalkers.

Mario and friends turned into zombies by artist Marko Saari.

As always, time to end on some music- this time a kick-ass version of the Resident Evil 3 closing music. Don’t have nightmares!

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Categories: Gaming, Main Sections
Tags: Bonus Stage

Posted By Chris Perkins on October 9, 2013

Welcome once again to yet another edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time:

Fantastic cosplay featuring Elizabeth from BioShock Infinite by TigerLily [Geek x Girls]

A smart and funny Star Wars The Old Republic comic from Linda Kindt.

What would Grand Theft Auto V have looked like if it had been made in 1993? Maybe something like this awesome video; GTA V SNES style!

Gender-swapped Mario/Game Of Thrones crossover [Geeks are Sexy]

Ladies! Show off your retro-gaming credentials with this Mario map dress from Koala Art & Design

Scribblenauts in real life! Caution: spoilers for The Walking Dead, the Sixth Sense and Seven (for some reason)

Fantastic Skyrim group cosplay

We can’t get enough of the amazingly talented Lyndsey Stirling here on Bonus Stage! She’s back on this great dubstep remix of the Pokemon theme song with Kurt Hugo Schneider.

 

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Categories: Gaming, Main Sections
Tags: Bioshock Infinite, Bonus Stage, cosplay, fan music, fanart, Mario, Pokemon, skyrim, videos

Posted By Chris Perkins on September 21, 2013

Welcome once again to yet another edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future instalment. In Bonus Stage this time: It’s all about GTA V!

 

Aussie artist Patrick Brown is one of GTA’s biggest fans. He’s produced some fantastic art based on the franchise, and this recent piece was created to celebrate the eagerly anticipated fifth game!

The release of GTA has put the violent games debate back into focus. Gaming’s critics are skewered nicely in this smart comic from dorkly.

Hilarious spoof review of GTAV from the folks at College Humor: So Realistic it’s boring!

Classy GTA art from Mark of Fear

GTA art from Krystyna Mojsejova

Screen Team have appeared here on Bonus Stage several times: and for good reason… they’re geeky and produce awesome stuff. Their latest song and video is here to mark the release of Grand Theft Auto, and it certainly captures the feel of playing the games!

Behind The scenes:

 

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Categories: Gaming
Tags: Bonus Stage, fan films, fanart, GTA V

Posted By Chris Perkins on September 10, 2013

Welcome once again to yet another edition of Bonus Stage! Bonus Stage is your regular dose of gaming goodness, where we bring you the finest game inspired art, videos , cosplay, music and more!  If you’ve created or found something you’d like to see featured in Bonus Stage drop me a line via twitter: @misterchristor, or drop a comment down below and maybe it will feature in a future installment. In Bonus Stage this time:

 

This funny comic from Nerd Rage perfectly captures the reaction from certain gamers to Nintendo’s 2DS:

This Portal 2 GLaDOS cosplay has to be the most elaborate we’ve ever seen [laughing squid]

 

I hope you’re not sick of covers of Daft Punk’s ace Get Lucky yet, because here’s one like you’ve never seen before- Get Lucky in Mario Paint!

Legend of Zelda spirit stones.

While we (im)patiently await the arrival of the new Mirror’s Edge this beautiful video brings it to life. Perfectly capturing the game’s first-person parkour in live-action, this video is well worth a watch.

This awesome cute take on Final Fantasy is available on a T-shirt.

When I woke up this morning I would never have imagined that I’d be writing the word’s “Live-action Rayman Legends Fan Film”, but… I just did. Because that’s exactly what this is. Returning Bonus Stage champions Corridor Digital put together this tribute to Ubisoft’s platforming star that is both fun and kind of freaky.

Princess Peach: Pin-up style from la Esmerelda

Sing along with the song of Skyrim! (Or don’t, it’s all good)

Check out this fun League Of Legends Miss Fortune cosplay.

An excellent version of Portal’s Still Alive from The Video Games Music Choir!

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Categories: Gaming
Tags: cosplay, fan films, fanart, league of legends, Mario, mario paint, music, Zelda