UNI-COOL: ON BRIAN ALFRED AND NAMCO/UNIQLO’S PAC-MAN T-SHIRT LINEUP
Apparently in the rush to cover Uniqlo’s larger games T-shirt initiative, I completely neglected to mention one subset of their crossover wares: a line of Pac-Man shirts released in partnership with Namco to promote the game’s 30th anniversary.
Normally I might not go back in time to retroactively cover something that’ll be harder to track down now than it would have been then, though I’m going to go ahead and use it as a good excuse to focus on the design at top left: the cityscape shirt created by Offworld favorite studio artist Brian ‘Paintchanger‘ Alfred.
It was actually via Alfred that I re-discovered the line-up, who posted that the shirt was not only still available at Uniqlo’s SoHo store, but is also currently importable (and affordable) from Malaysia, here.
Alfred’s design is right in-line with the signature style that’s brought him acclaim for the past several years: mural sized ‘photo-real’ landscapes reduced to superflat vectors, as seen in the video above.
As also seen in the video above — which features an E*vax, Lullatone, Jon Sheffield, and I am Robot and Proud score — he’s traditionally partnered with a number of fantastic music names for accompanying (and now exceedingly rare) compilation/gallery catalog CDs, including the above, alongside Pulseprogramming, Loscil, and Nobukazu Takemura (who you might know from his wicked/epic/utterly unrecognizable Yo La Tengo remix).
You can see all of the participating artists in the Pac-Man line up (including Kentaro Kobuke and Carlos ‘Dzine‘ Rolon’s designs, pictured at top) via Uniqlo, see larger shots of all the shirts at the company’s store, and see more examples of Brian Alfred’s work via his Paintchanger site and this bonus YouTube preview.
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BACK-MASKED: INDIE RHYTHM SHOOTER RETRO/GRADE COMING TO PS3 WITH GUITAR SUPPORT
Sony’s continued initiative to grab some of the best the Indie Games Fest has to offer continues with the fresh announcement that Retro/Grade — the 2009 Audio award winner and design-nominated game in reverse — will be coming to the PlayStation 3 as a PSN downloadable.
The secret beneath the previously covered game is, as was said at the time, that it’s actually “not a shooter, but a rhythm game in deep disguise, rewinding through an unplayed battle and syncing shots and dodges so as not to damage the space-time continuum.”
The biggest surprise for the PSN version is, as developer 24 Caret revealed on the PlayStation Blog, support for a Rock Band/Guitar Hero guitar, taking that rhythm basis even further: using the controller will let you change lanes as above via the fret buttons and fire with the strum button.
You can still try a demo of the game on your PC via Steam here, or by downloading the game via 24 Caret’s official site, while you wait for more unannounced features the studio promises soon.
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ONE SHOT: DOTTER DOTTER DOES MORE MARIO
Frequently featured 3D pixelcrafter Tibori Design brings more soft-shaded perspective to 2D Mario.
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KING ME: TRY PS3 COLLECTION KATAMARI FOREVER FROM HOME
Comic-Con isn’t the only place where you can get your hands and head around the PlayStation 3’s forthcoming Katamari Forever collection: yesterday, a demo of the game went live on Japan’s local PlayStation Network Store, which, you’ll be pleased to hear, is actually quite a bit easier to access than you’d imagine.
The two level demo contains one two-minute corner store challenge, which sees you very traditionally rolling up a hyperactive sugar-rushed child’s dreamscape of sweets and toys, but the demo’s other level is a bit more left-field.
Here your task is to carry bath-house water across a barren desertscape and convert it, square meter by square meter, into a lush Eden-esque garden, constantly returning to the source to refill your liquid reserves.
Both levels prove an essential and inescapable truth: what Katamari was, Katamari still will be. What has always worked with the franchise: its cubist world/singularly outstanding soundtrack/continual sense of accomplishment and restored order set against the somehow politely chaotic aggressiveness you’re actually inflicting on the world all remain intact, and, as seen so far, the game appears to want to offer you little more to distract you from that which you already expect. Which is to say, it’s basically unassailably perfect at being more Katamari.
While you’re there (or at Hong Kong’s own local PSN Store), be sure to also pick up the celebratory Katamari meets Noby PS3 theme, which, in true Takahashi style, playfully reduces the usual visual distinctions of other PS3 desktop themes into one, flat, cardboard-drawn set of overlapping, indistinguishable pencil scribbles.
Katamari Tribute is out now in Japan and via the usual import shops, and is due for release in the rest of the world in September.
Previously:
- Tummy tingles: the latest look at PS3 remake Katamari Forever …
- Puppets, mecha-Kings, R.C. racers: the latest look at the PS3's …
- Beautiful Star: Katamari Damacy Tribute coming to PS3
- Listen: YMCK remix classic Katamari for PS3's Katamari Forever …
- One shot: Namco's Katamari Forever
- HD Katamari in motion: first U.S. video of PS3 remake Katamari …
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ONE SHOT: HEADBANGING FOR LOVE IN SPIRIT HORSE OF THE CHEROKEE!
Die Gute Fabrik’s Nils Deneken (he of the previously featured forthcoming swamp-opera game Mutatione) teases screenshots of his ‘headbanging game” Spirit Horse of the Cherokee!
Created for the recent No More Sweden indie-meetup/rapid-dev competition, Deneken describes the game as a love story between the couple above, who, “by synchronising their headbanging, reach new planes of heavy metal love.”
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L’INTRIGUE éPAISSIR: MORE SCENES OF BJöRN HURRI’S CATBURGLAR CLAUDE
My apologies if my google-translate-aided French is way off base, but the plot does thicken as former Dungeon Runners and current Creative Assembly (Total War) concept artist Björn Hurri teases these three burgled scenes from the secret project I featured a few days back. Moreso than ever, I desperately hope it’s something to play.
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COOKING WITH ANNA THE RED: MARIO MUSHROOMS FROM REGULAR RADISHES
Someone at the Food Network is asleep at the wheel for not giving reigning bento champ Anna The Red her own games-related cooking show. The latest: this step by step tutorial to turn your ordinary radishes into Mario mushrooms, with the help of two bits of seaweed. [via Ian Bogost]
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LYLAT NIGHTS: THE LATEST VIDEO OF FAN-MADE STAR FOX SEQUEL SHADOWS OF LYLAT
I would sincerely hate to see their alleged six years of development go down the drain, so I hope Sol Team — the team of developers behind Shadows of Lylat, a full, story-driven fan-sequel to Star Fox created in FreeSpace‘s open-source engine — pull the proper 11th hour switch and give us a game simply “inspired by Star Fox” rather than waking the sleeping IP lawyer giants. [via Stefan Constantinescu]
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LISTEN: ANAMANAGUCHI, BIT SHIFTER, TUGBOAT COVER WEEZER, IN 8-BITS
From videogame orchestra’s Castlevania-esque remake of Island in the Sun, to nordloef’s euro-chip-disco remix of Buddy Holly, to Anamanaguchi, Tugboat and Bit Shifter’s typically excellent showings, the awesomeness of Pterodactyl Squad’s just-released 8-bit Weezer cover compilation album basically speaks for itself.
The tracklist:
1. Island In The Sun (Belmont’s Revisal) – videogame orchestra
2. Holiday – Anamanaguchi
3. El Scorcho – Tugboat
4. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here – Bit Shifter
5. You Won’t Get With Me Tonight – PDF Format
6. Hash Pipe – seal of quality
7. In The Garage – OxygenStar
8. You Gave Your Love To Me Softly – :(
9. We Are All On Drugs – Rabato
10. Jamie – Unicorn Dream Attack
11. Come To My Pod – Mahamajama
12. Why Bother? – I Fight Dragons
13. Buddy Holly – nordloef
14. I Do – arcadecoma.
And it’s free, and you should just go get it now. [via crashfaster]
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T-SHIRT: SPLIT REASON’S AHAB VS. DICK
There are no ‘friendships‘ in this ‘mortal’ struggle. [via infinitelives]
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