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Retro Gaming Culture

Activision Action Figures

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Imagine a time before social media. I shudder at the thought. If you are asking yourself why, it will become evident in a second.

During a conversation with my retro gaming friend from Wales, Dan Bridge, he brought to my attention some exceptionally cool custom made Atari-era Activision action figures. It would be a gross understatement to say that I was excited by Dan passing on the information. That is the power of social media.

I was so beside myself with these action figures, I was trying to devise a way to convince the creator, Dan Polydoris (aka: Chicago Toy Collector) to mass produce his masterful work (legalities aside) and sell it to us video game and action figure lovers. What do you say Dan?

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source: Chicago Toy Collector
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source: Chicago Toy Collector
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source: Chicago Toy Collector
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source: Chicago Toy Collector
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source: Chicago Toy Collector

This is not the first time Dan Polydoris has created custom action figures based on video games. This toy-making wiz also produced these awesome Mega Man and Super Mario action figures. You should stop drooling now!

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source: Dan Polydoris
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source: Dan Polydoris
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source: Dan Polydoris

What do you think of these custom made action figures? Which one is your favourite? Would you like to seem them available? Let us know.

 

Deconstructed: Video Game Controllers

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Ever wanted to perform an autopsy on your precious retro gaming controllers? With the precision of a surgeon, Brandon Allen’s Deconstructed artwork series does exactly that –  dissecting our favourite controllers to view what is inside of them. By the look of it, not much, but hey, they still did the trick.

If you like any of these photographs, head over to the Ballen Photography Print Shop and place your order. These are awesome and unique video gaming related artworks.

WARNING: Do not perform this on your working classic controllers!

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The Atari VCS/2600 joytsick
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NES controller
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Mega Drive / Genesis controller
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SNES controller
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N64 controller
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Dreamcast controller

All images sourced from: Brandon Allen – Ballen Photography

 

A Tale Of Wrestling In Video Games

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Wrestling is quite popular around the world. Is it a sport or is it theatre? Whatever the case may be, it was a match made in heaven when wrestling made it to the video games realm. How much fun was it when you pulled off a suplex on your unsuspecting friend and then having them down for the count? Ah wrestling, pure unadulterated entertainment.

Being a wrestling and video games fan, the Wrestling With Pixels: The World Tour Of Wrestling Games kickstarter campaign caught my eye. I knew I had to scratch the surface on this one.

Wrestling With Pixels: The World Tour of Wrestling Games (by Botched Productions), is a book and DVD project detailing the entire history of wrestling video games development in the US and Japan. It will feature interviews with wrestlers and game developers alike. What more could you ask for?

If you would like to know more about this great project, head on over to the Kickstarter campaign this instant!


source: Botched Productions

Play It Again: Remembering 1980’s Gaming

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Did you know this game was developed in Australia? If not, now you do!
source: Play It Again

We should be proud of our heritage. As an Australian, I am truly proud of our video gaming pedigree. From well known development and publishing houses like Beam Software, Melbourne House and Armchair Entertainment just to name a few, to well known and much loved games like Way Of The Exploding Fist and Hungry Horace. Pioneers like Alfred Milgrom should be lauded, as he put Australia on the map when it came to video games development. Luckily for us, there is now the Play It Again project.

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I broke many a joysticks raising and lowering my yacht’s spinnaker on this game.
source: Play It Again

Play It Again is a game history and preservation project focusing on locally (Australian and New Zealand) created digital games from the 1980s. The site aims to collect documentation in order to remember early games through popular memory. The project is a collaboration between researchers at several universities in Australia and New Zealand, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, the New Zealand Film Archive and the Berlin Computerspiele Museum.

The Popular Memory Archive aims to showcase some of the significant local games of the 1980s.  It features information on a curated selection of 50 games. In November, the Popular Memory Archive is focusing on Australia’s Videogame Pioneers, looking at the stories of some of Australia’s earliest game designers – how they got started, how they went about inventing an industry and making the games they created.

You can contribute as well by sharing your memories of playing games that were created in Australia and New Zealand. What are you waiting for, go and document your own piece of gaming history.

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Classic Moments: IK+

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I knew I should have got the smaller sized pants!

It’s not much fun getting caught with your pants down, especially in public. It’s also not a good idea to drop your dacks willingly in any situation. It’s just not socially acceptable. However in a video game,  that’s a different story.

Archer Maclean’s smash hit sequel to International Karate, IK+ improved on its predecessor in many ways – from the visuals, gameplay aspects, to the built in Easter eggs!

IK+ gave the player the opportunity to mess with their fighters in amusing ways – by making them drop their trousers! The trouser drop was performed by pressing the S and E keys together on the keyboard. The expression on the fighters’ faces when they realised they had been caught with their pants down was priceless. Truly a classic moment in video gaming.