Archives for April 2015

The Striking Video Game Themed Art Of ‘Noble-6’

April 30, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

DeviantArtist Colin ‘Noble-6’ creates strikingly beautiful video game themed artworks – here are just a few, check out his DeviantArt page for the whole collection.

The Legend Of Zelda Series

The Legend Of Zelda

Possession

The Lost Woods

It’s Dangerous To Go Alone

The Halo Series

Halo

I Would Have Been Your Daddy…

Infinity

Occupied City Center – 6 Hours After Drop

The Heroes Of Gaming Series

Half Life

Metal Gear Solid

Super Mario

Metroid Prime

The Star Wars Series

A New Hope

Return Of The Jedi

The Force Awakens

Star Wars Anthology – Rogue One

Source: Nobel-6 on DeviantArt

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Willy’s Arcade: A Home Entertainment Nirvana

April 29, 2015 By ausretrogamer

When you dream of having an arcade and pinball parlour integrated in your home, Gary McTaggert’s Willy’s Arcade is surely the perfect blueprint.

The former Valve programmer has the most awesome home arcade setup we have ever seen, from the classic arcade cabinets (Ed: which there are a lot of!) and pinball machines, to the fantastic nerdy artwork adorning the walls, and that oh-so-brilliant diner in the kitchen – it is truly the stuff of dreams!

Source: GaryMcT via Cheezburger

Winter Is Coming: 8-Knit Art

April 27, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Winter is fast approaching in the Southern Hemisphere and we are on the lookout for cool ways to keep warm. With just a few weeks to go, you had better get knitting (or crocheting) if you want to be able to rug up with one of these 8-knit retro beauties.

Looking Hot In Contra & Super Mario Sweaters By Sweaterrarium

Don’t Let The Cold Invade Your Feet Or Head (Space Invaders Socks & Woolly Hat)

Wow! A Multi-Panel, Queen-Size Super Mario Bros. Blanket

A Beautiful Mario Tunisian Crochet Blanket (With Pattern)

If I Made This, I Would Be Thinking ‘Waka’ Every Time I Made A Stitch!
(Pac-Man Blanket By PiNiKoLi On DeviantArt)

This Super-Cute Pikachu Blanket Contains 1,680 Crocheted Squares & Measures 2.5 x 2 Metres! (Pikachu Blanket By PiNiKoLi On DeviantArt)

Awesome Donkey Kong, Pac-Man & Space Invaders Crocheted Gamer Blankets
(Via Nerd Approved)

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Good Clean Fun: Pinball At The Laundromat

April 26, 2015 By ausretrogamer

A Brooklyn (New York City) laundromat has turned what used to be a mundane chore, into something to look forward to. Peter Rose, owner of Sunshine Laundromat & Cleaners has installed an awesome array of pinball machines among the washers and dryers. And why not? You’ve already got a pocket full of change!

To top it off, Peter is also seeking a liquor license so he can really spice things up at his laundromat. I hope this takes off in Australia too. You never know, next time you hit the laundromat, you may be playing on a Twilight Zone pinball table! Now that would be something.

Wash ‘N Play!

I wish our local laundromat looked like this!

Peter Rose, owner of the laundromat, chats to a happy customer

Source: The Wall Street Journal (photos by Adrienne Grunwald for the Wall Street Journal)

Mama Mia: Mario Kart IRL

April 24, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Mama Mia! The clever engineers of Waterloo Labs have created an incredible real-life Mario Kart track with a functional item system.

They explain: ‘The goal of this project is to recreate Nintendo’s Mario Kart game in real life. This involves building a system to control the movements of a full sized go-kart as well as a wireless communication system. The end result is a go-kart system where each player can race around a track and pick up items that alter the behaviors of the go-karts’.

Video source: Waterloo Labs on YouTube

I know you are probably itching to rush out to find this amazing track, but sadly it was only a temporary set up. However, all is not lost – the guys provide detailed information on how to build your own (please be sure to let us know if you do!).

And don’t forget to check out their other projects such as the Kinect-a-Sketch and the Eye controlled Mario.

Source: Waterloo Labs via Mashable

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Pixel Baz: Awesome Pixel Art Mashups

April 23, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

There’s not much to say about Pixel Baz‘s pixel art retrogaming/movie mashups other than they are a whole lot of fun. I would happily play all these games!

Pixels Assemble!

I Have Come Here To Chew Bubblegum And Play Video Games… And I’m All Out Of Bubblegum

Solid Snake Plissken: Escape From New York

Get Away From Her, You Pix(els)!

Game Over Man, Game Over!

All Work And No Video Games Makes Jack A Dull Boy

Dawn Of The Dead Hunt

Super Night Watch Bros.

Donkey (Ice) King

Dalek Kong

Pixels Of The Lost Ark

It’s Dangerous To Go 88MPH! Use This

It’s Dangerous To Time Travel! Take This

It’s Dangerous To Tron Alone! Take This

Source: Pixel Baz

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Time For Some Retro Recycling

April 22, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

What should you do when your console dies and goes to console-heaven? Take a leaf out of Michael Chipper’s book and recycle it into a cool clock!

Game Boy Colour Clock

PlayStation Clock

PS3 Clock

Game Boy Clock

Nintendo Wii Clock

Xbox 360 Clock

PS2 Clock

Xbox Clock

Source: SlothJunk on Etsy via Cheezburger

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

C64 Game Review: Rocket Smash Ex

April 21, 2015 By ausretrogamer

GET READY Commander 64! Fly up, down, and all around, avoid the aliens or pew pew pew them with your screen penetrating laser! Scramble around the stage to collect rocket pieces to reassemble your rocket to freedom. But wait, there is more! Once the rocket is assembled, it will need to be fully fuelled (via dropped fuel cells) so you can make your escape and land on the next challenging stage!

To keep things interesting and to get the adrenaline pumping, you will need to get the objectives completed before your oxygen runs out. Alas, oxygen cells do fall from the top of the screen, so grab them to ensure you keep going, otherwise, it is curtains for Commander 64! Oh yeh, if you collide with an alien, it is instant death! Sounds all easy aye? With three difficulty levels, you will probably find yourself playing Rocket Smash Ex in either easy or normal mode. For those sadists among you, try the hard mode!

Enter the Charlie-Bravo-Mike system if you dare. Rocket Smash Ex is a frantic shoot’em-up come semi-puzzle-assembler where your twitch reflexes will be tested to the max. The control is sublime and feels second nature. The single screen gameplay is complimented by satisfying music (you’re feet will be tapping in no time) with awesome meaty sound effects. Rocket Smash Ex is exactly what your C64 is craving for – it is simply brilliant!

For more information on Rocket Smash Ex or to download the game, visit RGCD.

image source: RGCD

2015 Supanova Pop Culture Expo – Melbourne

April 19, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

The 2015 Supanova Pop Culture Expo began at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds last weekend (10-12 April) (followed by Gold Coast 17-19 Apr, Sydney 19-21 Jun, Perth 26-28 Jun, Adelaide 20-22 Nov and Brisbane 27-29 Nov). Ausretrogamer and I visited primarily to watch the Australian 2015 Timezone Supanova Pinball Championship: Victorian State Final, but we could not resist checking out all the other geeky delights on offer.

Celebrities

There was a plethora of cool celebrities for autographs and photos – Christopher Lloyd, James Cosmo, George Takei, Charisma Carpenter, James Marsters, Dolph Lundgren and John Jarratt to name a few!

Cosplay

We spotted some awesome cosplay in real life (and on twitter).

It’s not a great photo, but this was my favourite cosplay – the Belcher kids from Bob’s Burgers in Halloween costumes (Tina as a Mummy Mommy, Louise as Edward Scissorhands & Gene as Queen Latifah).

Image source: Flavorwire

An awesome display by the Mandalorian Mercs

All the Robins
Image source: @australianwords

MYAAH!!
Image source: @JamesAndersen94

Katarina from LoL – beautiful!
Image source: @Japandaman71

A very cool Marceline, the Vampire Queen
Image source: @Madman

Skull Kid vs. Link
Image source: @Nomteg

Braaaains!
A terrifyingly-realistic zombie advertising the Oz Apocalypse Zombie Apocalypse Survival Game
Image source: @sootmag

Marvel-ous Cosplay!
Image source: @Japandaman71

The Exhibition Hall

There was a lot going on in the Exhibition Hall including the WETA Workshop booth, a De Lorean for photos, Australasian Wrestling Federation matches, Popcultcha and EB Games stores, the Australian 2015 Timezone Supanova Pinball Championship: Victorian State Final, and many artists.

Ausretrogamer met Gollum at the WETA Workshop booth!

Terminator v Superman

A life-size Incredible Hulk!

… And life-size Iron Man Hulkbuster Armor

Have your photo taken in a real De Lorean

The wrestling matches drew huge crowds

The Australian Pinball League‘s the Australian 2015 Timezone Supanova Pinball Championship also generated a lot of interest

A beautiful art book by Anthony ChristouShop till you drop!

Events

There were plenty of seminars, workshops and screenings (see the program for full details).

The verdict

We had a great time, see you next year Supanova!

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Ms. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

Read-Only Memory announces The Bitmap Brothers: Universe art history book

April 17, 2015 By ausretrogamer

The Bitmap Brothers: Universe is a singular collection of never-before-seen concept artwork and archive material, covering seminal titles such as Xenon 2: Megablast, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe and The Chaos Engine.

The book also features an authoritatively written inside story of the company and its games. Written by Duncan Harris (contributor to Edge and Rock, Paper, Shotgun), it weaves together new and original first-hand interviews with The Bitmap Brothers’ key figures, including founder Mike Montgomery and lead artist Dan Malone – offering an unrivaled glimpse at the groundbreaking, enigmatic, Ray-Ban-wearing Bitmaps team. This luxurious hardback will include:

Contributions from Mark Coleman (Artist — Speedball, Xenon 2: Megablast, Magic Pockets, Gods, Z, World War II: Frontline Command), Sean Griffiths (Programmer — Cadaver and Magic Pockets), Martin Heath (Founder, Director — Rhythm King, Founder — Renegade Software), John Foxx (Musician — Nation 12, and Ultravox) and many more;

Staggeringly intricate hand-drawn artwork, such as unused character concepts for Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe and pencil renderings of The Chaos Engine’s iconic cut-scenes;

Unearthing of several unreleased/unannounced games, such as the high-tech dystopian racing game called ‘Bike’/‘Havoc’/‘Triple X’, and an as-yet-unmade 2D Speedball successor.

The Kickstarter campaign for The Bitmap Brothers: Universe runs until 11 May 2015, and is seeking to raise £40,000. Special items available via the campaign are a signed, dedicated copy of the book (by Mike Montgomery), and a signed, specially-commissioned Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe print by original artist Dan Malone.

The Bitmap Brothers: Universe will join the stable at videogame history publisher Read-Only Memory, which includes the celebrated Sensible Software 1986–1999 (2013) and Sega Mega Drive/ Genesis: Collected Works (2014) – which we said ‘This is the only Sega Mega Drive /Genesis book you will ever need’!

image source: Read-Only Memory

Archives for April 2015

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