PIXEL PORN: THE BRILLIANTLY HONEST YAR’S REVENGE, ASTEROIDS, STAR RAIDERS AD
The most amazing thing about this Atari 2600 ad which purportedly ran in theaters in 1982 is that it doesn’t try to upsell any of the action you’d end up getting at home: no 8×8 sprites turned magically into full-color cartoons or live-action heroes, it simply demonstrates and sexes up the gameplay in all its low-bit glory.
That, and it’s sinister as hell.
Atari 2600 commercial – The Fly (Yars’ Revenge, Asteroids, etc., 1982) [YouTube, thanks, Alex!]
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A QUICK LOOK AT MARVELOUS’S EVEN QUICKER HERO FOR 30SEC
2009 doesn’t seem to have too much in store for Sony’s PSP at the moment (though I’m currently quite amped to try the just-released demo of Irem’s portable Disaster Report/Raw Danger sequel, the PS2 games being amongst my top 10 for the console), but one game destined to become an Offworld favorite is Marvelous’ Hero for 30Sec.
Thanks to this just-released trailer uploaded by Tiny Cartridge, we can get somewhat of a closer look, though the actual gameplay remains cloudy. What we know is this: the game follows four different characters in a traditional (and retro-pixel) RPG quest, but only allows each character 30 seconds at a time to do their deeds via quick-burst minigames.
The ‘hero’ plays a sidescrolling level-up quest, the ‘princess’s game is a top-down shooter, the ‘knight’s quest is a bird’s-eye action game, and the ‘demon lord’s game plays as a real time strategy to defeat knights trying to attack it.
The game has been announced for Western release (but not yet an American one), and is one I’m anxiously awaiting more details on: check Famitsu for more screens of the game’s gloriously 16-bit look and feel.
Hero for 30Sec [Marvelous, via Tiny Cartridge]
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ICO CREATOR LOOKS BACK AT COLOSSUS DEVELOPMENT
1UP’s just-published interview with Ico creator Fumito Ueda looking back at spiritual sequel Shadow of the Colossus some three years later was interesting not so much at what it revealed about the game, but about the practicality of Ueda in his approach to its creation.
Both games are heralded as some of the high-water-marks of games as art, and Ueda wins points for his approach the narrative debate (“there should be game design first and a story that suits the design, not the other way around”), and commercial intentions (“if I were to choose between something that sells for a moment and is forgotten, and something that doesn’t sell much but is remembered, I would choose the latter”).
His response to the hero dynamic was interesting, though:
Making a lead character female seems to be fascinating cinematically, but I picked a male character since most game players are male, and they need to become emotionally involved with the lead character. However, recently there have been many female gamers, so it is possible to have a female leading character, I guess.
And it was interesting to see that in both games, unlike most other adventures which are built on the very foundation (see: Zelda), Ueda deliberately left out unlockable weapons that would operate as “skill changes” — keeping the player on an even keel throughout.
As for what the team is doing now, nothing much has been said other than the above teaser image used for a recruitment ad, and a comically unhelpful appearance on the PS3’s Mainichi Issyo channel (aka, where those Sony cats come from), where he showed up and parted with nothing more than a drawing of the cats being chased by a colosso-feline.
Shadow of the Colossus Postmortem Interview [1UP]
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, Shadow of the Colossus
PIXELZ ARE SO SMALL: DEERHOOF’S NEW ‘BUCK AND JUDY’ VIDEO
While there aren’t any Game Boys or otherwise 8-bit chips anywhere to be found, I’m letting the chunky pixels of C Spencer Yeh‘s wonderfully meaty new video for Offworld fave Deerhoof stand as the main reason why you’re seeing it here. Get a little musical peanut butter in your games chocolate!
Unfortunately, Blurt apparently doesn’t allow for embedding, so head over there for the full thing
Kill Rock Stars has now officially released the video to YouTube, but after watching above, head here and here, where you’ll then understand why Deerhoof are Twin Peaks deputy Andy Brennan’s favorite band.
Deerhoof “Buck and Judy” premiere [Blurt Online, via Robin]
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BAFTA TO HONOR PONG/ATARI HEAD NOLAN BUSHNELL
Though the Academy hasn’t yet announced its official lineup for this year’s BAFTA Game Awards, it has sent a release noting that ‘Pong pioneer’ Nolan Bushnell will be this year’s Fellowship award winner. The honor is “presented for outstanding achievement through a body of work,” and last year (its inaugural year for a games-related award) was presented to Spore/SimCity creator Will Wright.
Academy Chairman David Parfitt said Bushnell’s contribution “is nothing short of remarkable; he ushered in an era, the legacy of which is the vibrant, evolving industry we see before us today.”
Bushnell is, of course, the entrepreneur behind both Pong and Atari’s foray into home consoles, who now spends his time heading uWink, the touchscreen enhanced ‘social entertainment restaurant,’ as well as chairman of Austin’s GameWager, which lets players compete in online games for prizes.
The full list of nominees for this year’s BAFTAs will be released on February 10th.
British Academy Video Games Awards
Previously:
Miyamoto, Spore awarded Jim Henson Honors – Offworld
Wii Fit tops 2008 Japan Media Arts Festival games entrants – Offworld
Getting crafty with Foldskool and Cubecraft – Offworld
What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2600) – Offworld
See more posts about: atari, Offworld Originals, pong
SURLY HATE MACHINE: DANCE TO EVERYTHING LEFT 4 DEAD’S FRANCIS CAN’T STAND
Every good game needs its accompanying dance mix, and GCIDogmeat and GCITherewolf oblige with this ode to the things Left 4 Dead‘s Francis hates. We all know Bill’s favorite thing is, of course, stairs (why??), but that’s just one of the myriad objects of Francis’s derision, which also includes doctors, lawyers, and.. The Fountainhead?
Francis Hates Left 4 Dead [YouTube, via Destructoid]
Previously:
Fallout 3: Everybody Dance! edition – Offworld
Left 4 Dead: Savage beyond belief – Offworld
Left 4 Dead: the twits don't stand a chance – Offworld
Better left unsaid: scraps from Left 4 Dead's cutting room floor …
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, Xbox 360
NEW TOWERS LOOM: FIELDRUNNERS UPDATE IMMINENT
Offworld broke news of new maps and modes coming soon to iPhone hit tower defense game Fieldrunners in late December, and now, via the studio’s new Twitter feed, Subatomic says the update’s been submitted to Apple and should be available in a matter of days.
Some of the new changes detailed in the feed: apart from a new branched-path ‘Drylands’ map, a new ‘P-47 Thunderbolt’ runner, new flame tower that can ‘incinerate multiple fieldrunners in a single fiery swoop,’ and, more technically, faster load times and a new each-round autosave feature to guard against persistent crashes and freezes.
Fieldrunners home [Subatomic, via Twitter]
Previously:
Fieldrunners update coming "very soon", includes new maps and more …
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
AETHER, PEGGLE, AUDITORIUM, WORLD OF GOO TOP 2008 JAYIS CASUAL LIST
Casual web/downloadable powerhouse JayIsGames has announced the winners of its fifth annual 2008 best game feature it opened for public voting in early January, with a fantastic selection of indie hits.
Many winners are already familiar/oft-blogged names, like 2D Boy’s World of Goo and PopCap’s perennially awesome Peggle series (here, its latest, Peggle Nights), as well as a number of titles that made the scene well before Offworld’s launch.
Among those: Kongregate’s internal viral strategy card game Kongai, retro-classic meta-mashup Rom Check Fail, gorgeous symphony-of-light puzzler Auditorium, and Aether, Tyler Glaiel and Edmund McMillen’s dreamily melancholy other-worldly adventure I recommended just yesterday.
There’s a week’s worth of other gems hiding out across the feature as well: as before, making your way through the list should keep you happily occupied for quite some time.
Best of 2008 Results! [Jay is Games]
Previously:
JayIs Opens Voting For 2008 Best of Casual Gameplay – Offworld
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
SPIELBERG/EA’S NEW BOOM BLOX GOES UNDERWATER, ZERO-G
Continuing a streak of happy EA news that follows our ongoing coverage of DS fave Henry Hatsworth and Spore‘s potential to grow as a platform, the publisher has announced Boom Blox Bash Party, a followup to its Steven Spielberg co-produced Wii title that was one of our most played on the console last year.
The company promises 400 new levels “under water, in zero gravity, and beyond,” and further expansions of its multiplayer challenges (the true lifeblood of the franchise) with new team-based play, as well as “new block types, including: virus and conveyor blox, new blox shapes, such as: cylinders and wedges,” and new cannon, paint ball and slingshot tools.”
Even better, EA says an online level sharing system will be going friend-code-less, and its Create Mode has expanded to include the full tool set the developers themselves use to create the game’s included levels: all signs are pointing to one of the first essential Wii games of 2009.
Previously:
Boom Blox does Mario, Galaga, Duck Hunt – Offworld
Ragdoll Metaphysics: Ten Things That Made Me Glad To Be A Gamer In …
Steven Spielberg gets games – Offworld
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
MAKE A MII OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY WITH MIITTENS
For the latest in our Offworld craft-corner, the latest online knitting quarterly mag Knitty features these Miittens, which, as you’ll have spotted with the clever pun, turn your hands (or the hands of your loved ones) into the bulbous graspers of the Nintendo Wii’s Miis.
Knitty is also the source, as you may have spotted in 2007, of these amazing Space Invaders socks which, bafflingly, none of my needle-happy friends have yet seen fit to make me.
Previously:
Intangibuild training 'knitting heroes' with Wii-mote enhanced …
LittleBigWatch: Free instructions for your Sackboy stitch-up …
See more posts about: Offworld Originals
