The Pop-Culture E-Zine
You know the deal by now – go watch the award-winning Still Standing documentary, it will be the best 74 minutes of your day!
Now, the other bonus featurette made available by Brad Gilbertson (Creator/Director of Still Standing) is of the truly mind-blowing 1UP ARCADE in Brisbane, Australia’s LARGEST retro arcade. Let 1UP Arcade owner, Stephen Holmes, take you on an insightful and intoxicating trip back in time.
source: BGVC Films on YouTube
Our resident doctor, Dr. Brant Raven is currently in Japan on holidays. Instead of heading to Suzuka to catch the F1 circus or the cherry blossoms, he has instead gone hunting for retro gaming goodies in Ikebukuro, another centre of otaku culture. The Doc has his priorities right.
This time, Brant paid a visit to Super Potato. Before you get too excited, this Super Potato store is much smaller than the main store in Akihabara, but it’s still adorned with nostlagia inducing retro gaming products. Brant tells us that the store is very small, but it has “shelves and shelves and shelves full of very rare stuff” – they were his words! Unfortunately Japan hasn’t been immune to costs rising, so the retro stuff that the Doc was checking out was expensive.
For now, we are living vicariously via Dr. Raven and can’t wait for him to send us more pics as his visits more retro gaming stores!
Prior to exhibiting at the 2024 Texas Pinball Festival (TPF), the Australian Pinball Museum visited the Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum in Hillsboro (Oregon, USA), and we are so glad that they did!
Obviously this place is now on our bucket-list of places to check out when we next visit the ole US of A. For more drool-worthy images from their recent visit at the Next Level Pinball Shop & Museum, check out the Australian Pinball Museum post right here and also their walkthrough video!
source: Facebook post via Australian Pinball Museum
“What the bloom’n heck does craptastic mean?”, I hear you ask.
It certainly doesn’t mean crap, although it can! Craptastic can mean ludicrous, bonkers, outrageous, funny, wacky, far out, and silly. The theme simply implies that the compo is just for a bit of fun, not a serious coding competition. You are more than welcome to make an excellent game to submit for the compo. Your game may contain some humour or silliness to fit more with the theme, but it doesn’t have to!
2022 Craptastic Comp Winner: Marble Boy (Roman Werner)
In our previous competitions, some entries were truly excellent, others excellent but silly, others truly awful but funny! It’s just a chance for people to do something a little different if they wish and explore ideas/concepts that wouldn’t normally work well in a more serious compo.
Please remember that this competition is limited to 4KB. Yes, any entry submitted can be no more than 4KB when compressed. If your game is more than 1 file, then all the game files put together must not exceed the 4KB limit. This includes hi-score save files.
We want craptastic game entries. Remember, the key word here is fun. We want both coders and players alike to have fun and enjoy this comp!
Submit your entries to RESET64 (via email: [email protected]) by 31st August, 2024 (23:59:59 GMT).
Take a look at our previous Craptastic compo entries to help draw inspiration!
Basic rules are as follows:
We reserve the right to change, add or delete rules during the competition if deemed necessary!
2nd place in the 2022 Craptastic Comp: Circles by James
The scoring system used for Craptastic is very simple. Each game will be scored against 7 criteria, each worth 5 points. An entry can score up to 35 points. When the panel has scored each game accordingly, the totals for each individual game will be divided by the number of judges to produce a mean average. The average will be the game’s final score.
The criteria that each game will be evaluated on are:
Originality – New idea or “rip off”? Off the wall ideas encouraged.
Concept – Quality of game design, is it fun, is it bonkers, is it craptastic?
Execution – Execution of design, taking into account controls and other factors such as excecution.
Presentation – Quality of graphics, audio and overall presentation. Supremely bad can be seen as a positive in some cases!
Gameplay – A measure of how enjoyable the game is to play.
Lasting Appeal – replay value, addictiveness.
OMG factor – when you see it, do you think “wtf!?” This is the true measure of craptasticness!
If a panel member has entered a game themselves, then the number of points that they can award will be adjusted (in this example, to 5) and they will not score their own release.
CSDB will not be used for voting. Also, entries should not be uploaded to CSDB, or elsewhere until after the competition has closed. Feel free to post screenshots or info though.
A craptastic gaming comp requires craptastic prizes, right? We have some fantastic prizes lined up for this year’s compo thanks to some very generous sponsors.
A big thank-you to the following sponsors and supporters:
More sponsors to be announced.
Unkle K / Reset64
Official Twitter account for Reset64 Magazine – dedicated to the world’s favourite 8-bit computer!
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Celebrate MAR10 Day in Australia and New Zealand with exclusive rewards on a range of Mario titles, including 10% back in Gold Points on Nintendo eShop, and collect an assortment of user icons parts from Super Mario games.
But wait, there is more! From now till 24th March, an assortment of user icons parts from Super Mario games will be available as Nintendo Switch Online member-exclusive rewards. There’s also a special mission you can complete by playing the Super NES classic Super Mario World to earn some Platinum Points.
Happy MAR10 Day to you all!
image source: Nintendo
We know this is now old news (over 5 years ago), but for those that missed Aaron Norton’s (aka: NintendoTwizer) Nintendo collection, check it out!
Unfortunately (or fortunately for) Aaron, he sold it all for US$164,000 (approx. AU$250,000), which some say is a pittance, considering the complete collections of NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy and GameCube games!
Anyway, we are glad that Aaron did one last tour of his collection before it was sold – WARNING: You may drool!
source: Aaron Norton on YouTube
A year ago (almost to the day) on February 23rd, 2023, we told you all that the documentary, STILL STANDING, was a must watch, giving it a 5-star rating! This is still the case, and this time it is even easier to catch one of the best made docos on the Australian arcade and pinball culture of the past.
Still Standing’s cinematographer and producer, Brad Gilbertson, has been working hard to bring this awesome doco to the masses via a national broadcaster. Well, after some very hard toiling by Brad, he had this good news to announce (via Facebook):
After a slight delay, Still Standing is now LIVE and FREE on SBS On-Demand here in Australia! Thanks so much for your patience while this was sorted out, and a HUGE thanks to the community, groups, our Still Standing cast and locations that have supported, shared and liked our recent posts! It has been overwhelming to say the least and we appreciate each and everyone of you enormously! Please enjoy the film and stay tuned for more exciting news very soon!
If you haven’t done so, and you have the slightest of interest in the Australian arcade and pinball scene from the past, then STILL STANDING is an absolute MUST WATCH! Head on over to SBS On-Demand right now!
image source: SBS On-Demand
Now this is innovative, a handheld Nintendo system, completely made out of cardboard and paper!
Pfft, no need for a Game & Watch or a Game Boy/GBC/GBA or a DS. Oh yeah, no need for Paper Mario either 😉 Just check out those graphics!!!
This boy created the real “Paper Mario” pic.twitter.com/7cqhpkjDnI
— Wonderful Moment (@Xudong1966) January 27, 2024
One of the first games I bought for my Atari Lynx (back in the day, and which I still have!) was Chip’s Challenge. For the record, the first game I bought for the Lynx was California Games, but this review isn’t about that game!
Just like Tetris on the Game Boy, I love coming back to Chip’s Challenge on the Lynx, it’s just a great game that suits the Lynx to a tee. To now have this great game on the Switch, I honestly couldn’t stop smiling! Chip’s Challenge on the Switch is exactly how I remember it on the Lynx, but with better controls and a luscious screen (if played on the OLED Switch).
For those of you that have no idea who or what Chip’s Challenge is, let us school ya a bit! Schoolboy Chip desperately wants to join the exclusive Bit Busters Computer Club, but to prove his worthiness he must complete a series of brain-twisting challenges set by the club’s owner Melinda the Mental Marvel – darn you Melinda!
You have to help Chip solve over 140 challenging grid-based puzzles, finding and using tools and devices such as keys, switches, pushable blocks and more, all while avoiding enemy creatures, and collecting computer chips to exit the level, all against the clock! Sounds easy aye 😉
Chip’s Challenge on the Switch has brought back a lot of nostalgia. For those coming in fresh to this game, please don’t be put off by the “blocky” graphics – it’s just all part of the charm! The game shines with its mind-bending puzzles to solve. At the end of the day, for the price of the game (less than a take away coffee), Chip’s Challenge is well worth it on the Switch. It may look quite blocky when docked, but this game shines when playing it on the go!
Chip’s Challenge will be released worldwide on Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo eShop on January 25th 2024.
Disclaimer: Chip’s Challenge Switch review code supplied by Pixel Games UK
Experience the excitement of a real-life Pac-Man maze as you elude colorful ghosts and snatch up fruit! This March (2024), The District Docklands in Melbourne will host an incredible Pac-Man Escape Room Maze. This immersive pop-up event, officially endorsed by Pac-Man, will immerse you in an escape room adventure within a massive maze.
Prepare to outmaneuver ghosts, gather your favorite fruits (bonus points if you can devour all five), and tackle puzzles along the way. Each participant has only three lives, and if caught by one of the four ghosts, a life is lost. You can embark on this adventure solo or with a team of up to 10 people – the choice is yours. The first person to collect all the fruit and conquer the puzzles will earn the title of the ultimate Pac-Man Player!
Additionally, the venue will feature Pac-Man video games for you to enjoy once you’ve completed the maze. Melbourne’s up-and-coming DJs will be spinning ’80s tunes during the session and at the pixelated bar, providing the perfect opportunity to relax and grab a refreshing beverage after your thrilling adventure