The Pop-Culture E-Zine
We say better late then never!
This 8 year old infographic by Reddit user Adiost (aka: Dmitry Pankin) celebrates the PlayStation timeline from its beginnings in 1994 with the groundbreaking PS, all the way through to the PS Vita Slim in 2014 – 20 years of awesome play (well, 28 years, but who is counting)! 😉
image source: imgur
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is like the video game Alien 3, the game is far superior to the films that they are based on.
For a 2009 game, the graphics and gameplay are amazing. When you are playing as Optimus Prime or Bumblebee, the missions can seem rather repetitive, but it’s enjoyable. The graphics were criticised when the game was released. However, they still look impressive to me. I’ve never been a big stickler for graphics; if the gameplay is fun, I can overlook problems with the graphics. The online mode was praised by critics.
The plot of the game is that the Autobots try to hunt down the remaining Decepticons after the demise of their leader, Megatron. The Fallen is a new adversary, but the plot could’ve done without that added foe.
image source: Gaming Nexus
Of all the Michael Bay “Transformer” films, the second instalment, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” is the sloppiest and most annoying. The jive talking, little robots could be one of the most disgusting characters in recent cinema history. Who could watch that and think it wasn’t in poor taste and tone deaf? I’ve never thought that the film was a total waste like some. I think John Turturro is very funny in the movie, and some of the action scenes are impressive, if you can tell who’s fighting who. So much work went into the visual effects, too bad it didn’t have a better screenplay and story. Michael Bay is a talented filmmaker. The “Bad Boy” films and “Pain & Gain” are entertaining films, I just wish he could have made one exceptional “Transformer’s” film. The first one is fun, but it’s not a great film. With a franchise as global as “Transformers,” Bay had a lot of toys in the toybox to work and create from. Perhaps, he still has a great Transformers film in him, but I think he’s handed the franchise off to younger directors. Paramount, who owns the rights to the Transformers franchise, will never stop making films about Autobots and Decepticons.
“Fallen” is one of the best third-person shooter games I’ve ever played. There are villains I didn’t think I was capable of defeating, and I like that in a game.
If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that the folks at From Bedrooms To Billions sure know how to create a compelling documentary.
Hot off the heels of their successful self titled From Bedrooms to Billions and The Amiga Years documentaries, the From Bedroom to Billions film makers have embarked on telling the definitive story of how PlayStation took gaming to the next level in The PlayStation Revolution documentary.
Take a gander at the below trailer and press release photos, as we are sure that your anticipation and excitement level will be turned up to the max! We honestly can’t wait to watch The PlayStation Revolution.
Available: September 7, 2020
TVoD Platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Sky Box Office and Vimeo
Physical platforms: DVD and Blu-ray
Roll on September 7th!!!
image source: From Bedrooms to Billions
What is it about the need to ‘hack’ handheld systems to play old school video games? Is it the challenge (to hack), is it the fact you are doing something shady or is it purely to just play your ‘backup’ video games from gaming generations gone by?
What ever the reason, there have been a plethora of options for retro gamers to either soft or hard mod their portable beasts to play classic games. In parallel, there have been dedicated emulation handheld systems to help with your hit of nostalgia, like the GP2X, Caanoo and the latest beast, the RK2020, to name just a few.
CycloDS – the softmod hack for the Nintendo DS
We have quite a few handheld systems that we use to play our favourite retro video games, some emulate better than the others, but our favourite right now is the PSP for playing Mega Drive and SNES games. We have the exciting new RK2020 retro handheld coming to our office, so stay tuned for our review on that little beast 🙂
WARNING: Hacking your systems is not without risk and can also void your warranty.
Ms ausretrogamer and I hit spa country in north western Victoria on a fine winter’s day a few weekends ago.
From the Daylesford Sunday Market to local vintage bazaars and The Amazing Mill Markets in Ballarat and Daylesford, we found vintage goodies that warmed our cockles.
We were blown away when we saw this tweet (thanks to Dan Donahoo) – a museum of gaming put together by primary school kids, wow!
The tweet that piqued our interest
We just had to get in touch with teacher Tamryn Kingsley from Aitken Creek Primary School to find out more about Grade 2A’s Museum of Gaming.
Grade 2A’s Museum of Gaming
Tamryn was originally a Merchandise Planner, but she has now found her calling as a teacher. She’s been at Aitken Creek Primary School for two years and is passionate about integrating technology into her classroom.
AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: How did the museum come about?
Tamryn Kingsley [TK]: At our school we engage students in an inquiry process through ‘Challenge Based Learning’. Challenge based learning revolves around students being set a challenge and working towards finding a solution for the challenge. The ‘Big Idea’ this term is ‘Change’ and the challenge is ‘Inform society of the changes in gaming’. In discussions with students (Grade 2) none of them had ever heard of the Atari! I knew that my mum still had our old Atari’s from when we were kids so I began to raid her garage which opened up a can of worms… I thought, what better way to engage students with their learning than having the physical items to explore.
To learn about ‘Change’, Grade 2A accepted the challenge to ‘Inform society of the changes in gaming’
ARG: Is the museum a regular part of the curriculum – or is this the first time you’ve done it?
TK: This was something that only my class participated in and it was the first time I had done it. It is something I would definitely do again as the children were so engaged in the learning that was going along with it, as well as developing fundamental skills.
Last year my Grade 2s developed their own games using the program Scratch and we are currently working with the whole Grade 2 cohort this year to do the same thing. This is a huge inquiry process into gaming which results in students creating games and then showcasing their games through a game convention.
We have a new Digital Technologies curriculum that has been rolled out across Victoria this year. Wherever I can, I integrate tech and gaming into my curriculum. For example, making game controllers using Makey Makey invention kits.
Controller designs for the Makey Makey project
(photo source)
ARG: What was the aim of the museum?
TK: As well as relating to the ‘Challenge Based Learning’ challenge, the museum also linked with Literacy and Numeracy curriculum areas. During Reading and Writing lessons we explored the purpose of informative texts. It was then that I introduced the gaming consoles to the students, from there they worked in groups to explore and find out information about their console. Their aim at this stage was to find out everything they could about it. We created timelines of when the consoles were released comparing consoles in years.
Kids worked in groups to find out about the consoles
During discussions we talked about where would we find these kinds of ‘artefacts’. From this the kids came up with wanting to open their very own ‘Gaming Museum’, which brought up a lot of questions: Who works in a museum? How do they run? Who is in charge of what? How do they make displays? In order to run an effective museum we began to explore different jobs required in the museum and the skills that each job brought with them. Students began to assess the skills they could each bring and chose the jobs that they thought they could provide the most to.
The class created timelines of when the consoles were released and chose jobs
With the jobs allocated, it was time for everyone to take on their role and prepare the museum.
The Directors and Public Relations team organised an open day for parents and other students to come in and explore the museum.
The Registrars took lists of the artefacts we had at the museum to make sure we did not loose anything!
The Educators reviewed all the research so when they took ‘tours’ they were able to answer questions.
Graphic Designers were busy designing the ‘look’ of the artefact labels, choosing fonts, colours, size and typing up all the information. We had been to Melbourne Museum and ACMI this year, so they looked back at photos and used their knowledge of the labelling to help them.
Designing the artefact labels
The Exhibit Designers were trying to work out how they could make glass cases… They decided to use their knowledge of 3D shapes to make cases using PlayDoh and skewers. Unfortunately as the artefacts were bigger their structures began to collapse – they got 10 points for effort though…
ARG: What consoles and games did you have in the museum?
TK:
All the lovely consoles and games
ARG: Where did the consoles and games come from – are they yours?
TK: Some of the consoles were ones my mum had hidden in her garage. Most of them were actually my brother’s when he was younger, which I fondly remember playing. She had the Atari, Mario Cement Factory, and the Tennis and Pinball games. The rest were from my sister and her husband, who are big fans of gaming. I was warned not to damage or lose them!
ARG: Are you a fan of video games, and classic games in particular?
TK: I do love playing games occasionally, but I am not a huge gamer. What I love about games is the connections that you can make with kids though gaming and the types of learning that takes place. Making these real world and authentic connections with students creates more powerful learning.
ARG: What did the kids think of the museum?
The awesome kids of Grade 2A – great work guys!
The museum opened for business and parents and other students came to enjoy it and learn
So, that’s the story of Grade 2A’s Museum of Gaming – an awesome example of Challenge Based Learning. We can’t wait to see what Tamryn and the kids and staff of Aitken Creek Primary School do next!
Photos from Tamryn Kingsley (unless otherwise stated)
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Ms. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.
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