AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Announcements

Announcements

Japan Amusement Expo 2014

By

JAEPO_HDR

Forget Valentine’s Day, I know exactly where I would like to be on Friday 14th February – at the Japan Amusement Expo (JAEPO) 2014. JAEPO is on from Friday 14th February till Saturday 15th February, with Friday being for traders only. If you are part of the general public, then mark Saturday as your day. Doors open at 10am! Get there early, as there are six great zones to explore:

Arcade Zone: the main exhibit showcasing arcade machines, sticker photos, simulation games, prize and medal game machines.
Family Zone: this zone includes arcade games, rides and amusement park equipment for elementary school children and families.
Prize Zone: exhibiting the prizes for prize (redemption) awarding game machines.
Related Product Zone: showcasing products and equipment related to amusement and entertainment.
Publication Zone: main exhibit for publications related to amusement and entertainment.
International Zone: Main exhibitors from abroad (outside of Japan).

Taito_JAEPO

With iconic arcade exhibitors like Taito, Sega, Konami and Namco headlining the expo, you will be assured to be dazzled with what’s new in the amusement machines world.

If you are lucky enough to attend, share your photos with us all.

Event Details:
Event: Japan Amusement Expo 2014 (JAEPO 2014)
Organiser: Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association, Inc (JAMMA)
Date: February 14 (Trade only) & February 15 (General public)
Entry Fee: 1,000YEN (~$11AUD) or Coupon
Venue: Makuhari Messe

image source: JAEPO and Taito

 

Shorty Award Nomination

By

Shorty_nomination

What does it mean to be nominated for a Shorty Award? Let me begin by stating I think the best motivation in life is passion and enjoyment – two things at the heart of ausretrogamer, and one should never do things just for the prize. With genuine passion, your reward is meeting other likeminded people from all over the world. Social networking, Twitter in particular, has broken down country borders and has allowed all of us to congregate in communities to share and engage. It truly is a global village. I am happy to be a part of it. That said, being nominated for a shorty award is a lovely bonus and an encouraging sign that we are on the right track.

My daily (ausretrogamer) tweets are to engage in conversation, be informative and most importantly, entertain anyone that would care to listen (or in this case, read tweets). The culmination of my passion has seen the creation of ausretrogamer.com – the Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine, an independent video games site dedicated to old-school retro gaming. The site aims to spread the nostalgic vibe of retro gaming by being informative and entertaining. Even if one reader is informed and entertained, then the job is done.

For those that have nominated me for a Shorty Award, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am truly honoured.

If you would like to vote for ausretrogamer, go to the Shorty Awards nomination page.

 

The Making Of R-Type: A Free Book By Bob Pape

By

Book - Front Cover

There is something altruistic when a bedroom coder documents one of their gaming creations in a tell-all book and then releases it for free!

That is exactly what Bob Pape has done. Mr. Pape, take a bow Sir. We thank you for writing It’s Behind You: The Making Of A Computer Game and sharing your experiences in coding one of the greatest shoot’em ups of all time – R-Type for the ZX Spectrum. On behalf of all gamers, modern and retro, thank you!

Get your free copy of It’s Behind You: The Making Of A Computer Game book here.

 

Giveaway: Retro Games Bundle

By

retrobundle

Don’t you just love giveaways? We know we do. Our good friends at Groupees have provided us with five gift codes to their Retro 2 Game Bundle to giveaway to five lucky retroholics.

So, what’s the catch you ask? It is simple, if you follow us on twitter, just retweet our GIVEAWAY post on this great retro bundle. We will then select five of you at random and get in contact with you with your gift codes.

You got to act fast, as the gift codes expire in less than 29 hours!

Good luck!


source: Groupees

Christmas Invaders: When Retro Gaming Met Christmas

By

ChristmasInvaders_Title

Counting down the days until Christmas? Bored at work or home? Need a distraction?

You’re in luck. Santa has delivered all you ever wanted this holiday season: a Christmas Invaders game for your smart device! Inspired by the classic arcade game (Ed: you know, the one where you shoot invaders), you’ll be challenged with fending off wave after wave of Christmas themed invaders.

Simply tilt your device to control your Christmas tree shooter and eliminate the barrage of oncoming festive attackers. You can even try your luck aiming at Santa and his reindeer for bonus points and lives!

ChristmasInvaders_Image2

Work your way through the increasingly difficult levels with awesome Christmas jumper inspired designs and old school sound effects that will take you back to the good old days.

Christmas Invaders brings a festive feel with retro style gameplay. Step back in time, get in the Christmas spirit and have a go on Christmas Invaders – it is FREE!

Get your hit of FREE Christmas Invaders for your Android or iOS device right now.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ChristmasInvaders_IconHovel Games is an independent start-up that develops games for mobile devices including iOS and Android.  Hovel consists of partners Kurt Rathjen and Emma Carter, and was founded in 2012 in Australia.

 

 

 

 

Aftershock 2013 Extravaganza

By

temp_CONS

When you get a personal invitation to attend a retro gaming event run by the Weird and Retro crew, you know you need to clear your schedule and be there.

The retro gaming event at Aftershock 2013 was part of the overall Monash University Computer Games Boot Camp (CGBC) interactive and industry engagement event. The whole event is the brainchild of Andrew Owen – a remarkable individual with creations that need to be seen to be believed – but more on that in a future article!

Aleks “Serby” Svetislav from Weird and Retro (WaR) extended the invite to us, which we were more than happy to oblige and attend. As usual, the buzz generated by an event run by WaR always brings on a rush of adrenaline. With a firm greeting handshake, Serby ushered us inside the Monash University auditorium.

temp_Mac

My pupils dilated once I saw the TempFest2000 (all Tempest 2000 game versions!) setup in front of a large wall projection.  Serby (and the WaR crew) always know how to leave a hardened retro gamer totally gobsmacked! With Tempest 2000 versions running on the Jaguar, Saturn, PC, PlayStation to the “I’ve never seen it before” Apple Mac, my mind was well and truly blown.

Even when the doors closed on the Aftershock 2013 gaming event on Saturday evening, we stayed back and chatted with Serby. I even got introduced to a new Pringles potato chip flavour which I am now frantically searching to buy from a certain American grocery store here in Melbourne.

temp_DC

The Aftershock 2013 event wrapped up last Sunday with a showcase of homebrew game releases and of course, some 4 player Power Stone 2 mayhem on the Sega Dreamcast! What a way to wrap-up proceedings!

As they say, all good things must come to an end. It was, as per usual, a pleasure catching up with Serby and Daz Retro. These kinds of events remind me of why I love the retro gaming scene – the passionate nostalgics just like me.

 

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

By

TOP_rom_md_jp_mould

It is the final few days on Kickstarter for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis art book as it announces new interviewees, artwork and more pages!

The funding campaign for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works will come to a close on Monday 9 December. The book – an unparalleled treasure of unseen archive material, interviews, development artwork, hardware manufacturing concepts and more – has exceeded its £30,000 (~$48,000 USD) target, and is delighted to announce the following additions:

• Exclusive and rare interviews with Hayao Nakayama (former Sega President) and Tom Kalinske (former Sega of America CEO)
• Interviews with legendary US developers Greg Johnson (ToeJam & Earl), Peter Morawiec (Comix Zone), Rich Karpp (Vectorman) and Michael Latham (Eternal Champions)
• An expanded page count, now totalling 340 pages
• New previously unseen artwork including:
– Concept art and level visualisations for Vectorman 2
– Early character sketches for ToeJam & Earl
– Detailed pencil-drawn level maps for Comix Zone
– Boss designs and attack pattern plans for Wonder Boy III
– Character development artwork and background plans for Eternal Champions

MD_gunstar_heroes
Gunstar Heroes conceptual artwork
source: Darren Wall
MD_rom_md_vectorman_2
Vectorman 2 concept sketch
source: Darren Wall
rom_bk_storyboard
Bare Knuckle (Streets Of Rage) sequence storyboard
source: Darren Wall

The book is fully licensed by Sega, and the new material will feature in this ultimate 25th anniversary retrospective alongside:

• Previously unseen concept artwork, design documents and sketches for a wealth of Sega’s 16-bit titles, including Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage, Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe and ToeJam & Earl
• Hardware manufacturing plans and concept illustrations
• 20+ exclusive interviews with legendary Japanese Sega developers, including: Naoto Oshima (Sonic the Hedgehog), Yu Suzuki (Space Harrier) and Yuji Naka (Sonic the Hedgehog)
• 15,000-word essay by Guardian Games Editor Keith Stuart
• Foreword by Dave Perry (Earthworm Jim, Aladdin)

If you have not already done so, visit the project on Kickstarter and pledge away!

MD_rom_md_toejam_earl
Our two favourite aliens in concept mode
source: Darren Wall

Ripping It Up On Tearaway

By

Tearaway

This is going to be a blasphemous post. If you are scratching your head and wondering why, then let me explain – this site is usually reserved for classic gaming or anything that brings back that intoxicating allure of nostalgia.

Well this time around, this retro gamer has been squarely whacked in the chin with a game that cannot be put down. The game I speak of is none other than the sublime Tearaway. Up until a week ago, my PS Vita sat idly on my desk totally unloved. It is amazing what a week in gaming can do – the Vita now enjoys an abundance of attention and Tearaway has a lot to do with it.

Tearaway is one awesomely imaginative game. It takes a paper aesthetic and uses it as a launching pad for inventive ideas and player creativity. The interactivity within the Tearaway world is a joy to behold – from dispatching scraps (enemies) by piercing the ground beneath them with your fingers, to creating papercraft designs to integrate into the environment. It is absorbing like a dry sponge sucking up water!

Tearaway is a purely addictive adventure 3D platforming puzzle solving game that utilises the PS Vita’s functions perfectly. If you were looking for an excuse to buy a PS Vita, this may be it.