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Nintendo Quest: The Unofficial And Unauthorised Nintendo Documentary

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NintendoQuest_titleDon’t you just love good news stories – I know I do! With 25 days to go, the Nintendo Quest – An Unofficial Nintendo and NES Documentary has already smashed its pledge target of $1,000! With alluring stretch goals, this Kickstarter project is bound to break all kinds of records! Let’s see how high it can go.

Jay_Nintendo_QuestFor those of you that want to know more about this documentary – it is a fun film that follows Jay Bartlett, a fanatic video game collector, who, on a dare, tries to collect all 678 original NES games – a long-time dream of his. The kicker is, Jay must achieve this tall order in 30 days without using the Internet in any way. While following Jay on his adventure, the film also examines Nintendo’s cultural history, their on-going legacy, and specifically, the endurance of the NES. I can’t wait to watch the finished product of this most unofficial and unauthorised Nintendo documentary ever!

Hit Kickstarter now!


source: Robert McCallum

The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary

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Logo_titleDespite the growing popularity of game music and chiptunes, there hasn’t been a comprehensive effort to chronicle their contributions to modern music and gaming culture. The Players’ Score: A Videogame Music Documentary aims to explore the relationships, developments and communities videogame music has fostered through live interviews with prominent videogame cover bands, chiptune artists, and the composers who inspire them in order to demonstrate the cultural and personal impact of videogame music.

Spanning the globe, participants have come from North America, Europe, and even Japan, with more artists being confirmed daily. Here is a brief selection of the artists who will be featured in The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary:

– Austin Wintory (Journey, The Banner Saga)
– Bit Brigade
– Danimal Cannon
– Danny Barranowsky (Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac)
– Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie, Kingdoms of Amalur)
– Grant “Stemage” Henry (Metroid Metal, LonelyRollingStars)
– Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana, Koudelka, Shining Hearts)
– Jake “virt” Kaufman
– Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls series, Guild Wars series)
– Manami Matsumae (Mega Man, Shovel Knight)
– Mega Ran
– Morgan “Crashfaster” Tucker
– Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid series, Bayonetta)
– Starbomb
– The Megas
– The Minibosses
– The Triforce Quartet

Many more artists have already been filmed, and more will be announced as they are confirmed.

Show your support by spreading the word and pledge towards The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary.

Beep: A History of Video Game Sound

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BeepIntro06With the flood of samey video gaming documentaries on the market, it is refreshing to see new and interesting video gaming film ideas hitting Kickstarter.

Beep: A History of Video Game Sound is a documentary film which will take viewers on a rich audio-visual journey through the history of game music and sound, from the minimalist sounds of 1970s arcade classics through to the surround sound orchestral soundtracks of 2014’s latest epics (Ed: oh man, chiptunes too!). We all have fond memories of gaming tunes or that special music track that has been (lovingly) stuck in our heads since childhood. Beep will unlock these memories by giving the maestros and sound designers of these awesome tunes the opportunity to tell their own stories and share in their amazing achievements.

But wait, there is more! The film will be published together with a book that will provide an in-depth perspective on the evolution of game audio, packed full of interviews with the pioneers of game sound. So whichever way you look at it, all bases are covered – on film and in literature.

There are great rewards for each pledge – from $1CAD all the way up to the dizzying $8,000CAD, there is something for everyone. With a target of $40,000CAD by September 30, let’s make sure this campaign succeeds! Every dollar counts. Show your support!


image and video via Beep

 

‘C64: A Visual Commpendium’ – New Stretch Goals

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In case you have been living off the grid for the past month, the Commodore 64: A Visual Commpendium Kickstarter campaign has been funded. Are we rapt? Of course we are! A huge congratulations to Sam Dyer and Bitmap Books for hitting their target.

With a week to go, you would think Sam would take it easy and take some well earned rest. But that is not how Sam rolls. After a fantastic response to the campaign, it doesn’t end there. Sam has been busy behind the scenes coming up with some great stretch goals, pulling together some new pledges and getting some new contributors on-board. Let the drooling begin!

New pledges
These include: signed Psytronik Software goodies, a personalised avatar by legendary C64 artist S.I.T, signed Oliver Frey goodies and a ‘one off’ framed Last Ninja print signed by original artist, Steinar Lund. There will be two more very special pledges coming this week – keep an eye out on the Kickstarter page!

cPsytronik

cSIT

cOliFrey

cLastNinja

New book contributors
Great news on the contributor front as some true legends of the industry have agreed to be involved in the book. The new contributors include:

  • Gary Penn (Zzap!64)
  • Dan Phillips (Armalyte)
  • Stephen Thomson (S.I.T)
  • Jon Hare (Sensible Software)
  • Steven Day (STE’86)
  • Philip & Andrew Oliver (The Oliver Twins)
  • Andrew Hewson & Rob Hewson (www.hewsonconsultants.com)
  • Steve Rowland (Thalamus)
  • Robin Levy (Armalyte)
  • Jacco Van ‘t Riet (Boys without Brains)
  • Jonathan Temples (Thalamus/Codemasters)
  • James Leach (Commodore Format)

Stretch goals
As the campaign goes further over it’s total, the extra money will be used to add extras to the print specification of the book. This will include adding a dustcover, spot varnish to the cover, extra pages to the pagination and finally, an enhanced PDF. All backers will benefit from hitting these goals.

cStretchGoals

If you have pledged already, these new rewards are quite enticing. If you have not yet pledged, then surely it is time to dig deep and support this wonderful Kickstarter campaign.

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c64_SamAbout Sam
Sam has over 10 years experience as an award winning professional Graphic Designer, working for agencies in London and also in the South West of England. His passion for design and also the Commodore 64, mean that he is ideally placed to create this book to the highest possible standard.
Follow Sam (aka: MrSidc64) on Twitter

 

C64_BitmapAbout Bitmap Books
A new publisher specialising in beautifully designed and produced books all about video games. Commodore 64: a visual commpendium is the first book by Bitmap Books.

 

Viva Amiga: The Glory Days

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RJ_AmigaOMG! This teaser video of Viva Amiga: The Documentary Film about the beautiful machine, has not only whet our appetite, but it has totally made us all drool in anticipation. Some true heavyweights feature in this video, one being RJ Mical – (one of) the inventing geniuses behind Commodore’s flagship model.

The Kickstarter campaign was funded back in July 2011, so this teaser video serves as a reminder of what is to come. For those that funded the project, you lucky, lucky b*$7%^&$! For those of us that didn’t, let’s hope pre-ordering opens very soon!


source: Viva Amiga

C64: A Visual Commpendium

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c64_BookCommodore 64: a visual commpendium is a book that celebrates the beauty of the greatest home computer ever made.

A campaign to create this book will launch as a Kickstarter on April 1, 2014. This is a call to action and is no April Fools’ Day joke! Mark this date in your diary and support this great campaign.

c64_Comm64Created by lifelong Commodore 64 fan and Graphic Designer Sam Dyer, the final book will feature 200+ pages of lovingly designed and beautifully printed artwork. Unlike other Commodore 64 books, it will celebrate the visual side of the computer in a way that has never been seen before.

c64_Turrican2It will be packed full of artwork by Oliver Frey, game art, reviews, loading screens, game maps and photography. The foreword will be written by legendary Sensible Software Graphic Artist Stoo Cambridge.


source: MrSid64

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c64_SamAbout Sam
Sam has over 10 years experience as an award winning professional Graphic Designer, working for agencies in London and also in the South West of England. His passion for design and also the Commodore 64, mean that he is ideally placed to create this book to the highest possible standard.
Follow Sam (aka: MrSidc64) on Twitter

 

C64_BitmapAbout Bitmap Books
A new publisher specialising in beautifully designed and produced books all about video games. Commodore 64: a visual commpendium is the first book by Bitmap Books.

 

Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works

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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

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

ARTCADE: The Book of Classic Arcade Game Art

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source: Kickstarter

Want to go on an arcade nostalgia trip? If Tim Nicholls raises £10,000 (Ed: he has now! Woohoo!) on his Kickstarter campaign, the dream will definitely become a reality.

There have been quite a few Kickstarter projects that have piqued my interest and this one has definitely done more than that. Being an avid arcade junkie, this book will be choc-full of memories from the golden age of arcade gaming.

Check out the kickstarter campaign for Artcade. Will you back this?


source: Kickstarter