What? What are you saying about Super Mario Bros. 3? You mean to tell me that I have been playing a lie for the last twenty or so years? Hmm, the evidence is quite compelling. I feel so violated right about now. What do you think?
source: TV Secrets
Retro Gaming
Breaking Bad: The NES Cartridge
It’s ok, my jaw dropped too. You can slowly put it back in place. Who wouldn’t want a Breaking Bad (Bad Breaker! – very clever!) inspired NES cart? This is one of many fine NES cartidge artistic works by some very talented artists at 72 Pins.
These created items use classic NES cartridges recycled as an art canvas. Inside the cart, you will find a random vintage game from the original NES lineup that still works! Very cool indeed. All profits go directly to supporting the artists and the teams involved in the creation of these carts.
Check out the rest of their range down below and then hit their site to support the artists!
image source: 72 Pins Blog
Conversion Capers
This article is not about some poor arcade conversion on the C64, which there were plenty. No, what I am writing about here is, is my converting the garage into a gaming room project. After a fair bit of procrastination, I am making some sort of progress on the clean-up. There was a lot of soul searching when decisions were made to either keep stuff or throw it out. Since I have hoarding tendencies, this was quite difficult, hence the procrastination.
So, where am I up to – the flooring has been procured, the door quotes have been obtained and the plan of where the consoles, computers, Dreamcast kiosk, server rack cabinet and arcade machines will go is pretty much set. I may change my mind where things will end up, but for the moment, I am happy with the plan. It would be remiss of me not to mention my wife – she has given me so many great ideas, ones I would not have thought of on my own. So for that, I am eternally grateful! She has an amazing eye for detail and interior design expertise in gaming rooms.
The progress has been slow, but this was never a race. The garage conversion can not proceed at this stage till the doors are in place, as dust needs to be kept out to ensure the old retro gear survives. Being this time of year, it is difficult to get tradesmen to do any work, as they are still on holidays. For now, I am remaining patient and still throwing out bits and pieces (reluctantly) to ensure the room does not end up a cluttered mess!
Stay tuned for future progress updates on this project.
Lesser Known Video Game Facts
source: imgur
Human Pong, Tetris, Space Invaders and Pole Position
Here is a novel idea, use a group of humans as pixels to depict some of video games’ classic games like, Tetris, Pac-Man and Pole Position to name a few.
Stop motion artist, Guillaume Reymond assembled large groups of volunteer humans (as pixels) for his Game Over project to recreate stop-motion videos of classic video games, complete with self-created sound effects. Enjoy!
Human Pac-man
Human Tetris
Human Pole Position
Human Space Invaders
Human Pong
source: NOTsoNOISY
Arcade Machines: Marquees Of Light
If you are pressed for space to add those old arcade machines in your home, perhaps these arcade marquee lights are the next best thing. Created by Kyle from Arcade Lights, these arcade cabinet marquees are the real deal (all original) and perfectly hand assembled. You can now save on space (and lots of machine maintenance money) by having these lights proudly hung on your wall.
Hit the Arcade Lights Etsy store now and start drooling, I mean browsing.
Images source: Arcade Lights
Evolution Of Gaming Consoles
I will let the below infographic speak for itself. Click to enlarge and traverse the evolution of gaming consoles from 1967 through to 2013!
source: Mr. Wallpaper
Console Inflation
Before you tear out your hair at the current costs of the latest generation consoles, spare a moment to reflect upon the consoles that came before them. The below graphic shows the original retail price ($USD) and the price adjusted for inflation. No wonder my parents could never afford the Atari 2600! Very interesting indeed.
source: Reddit
Retro Gaming: The Unloved
One man’s trash, is another man’s treasure. Or so the saying goes. For those that consider their items as being worthless, especially retro gaming gear, I guarantee they would be considered quite valuable by someone else – someone else just like me!
Have you ever rescued an old piece of video gaming or related item from the side of the road or a garage sale?
Classic Moments: IK+
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.