The Pop-Culture E-Zine
If Mario was on steroids, would he go on a roid rage and take on every video gaming character in his way? Looking at these fine pieces of art by Sebastian Von Buchwald, it looks like that he may. Our hero has become the angry anti-hero!
Mario vs. Ryu
Mario vs. Crono
Mario vs. Lara Croft
Mario vs. Sonic
Mario vs. Mega Man
Mario vs. Pac-Man
Mario vs. Bomberman
Mario vs. Crash Bandicoot
Mario vs. Earthworm Jim
Image source: Sebastian Von Buchwald
What does it mean to be nominated for a Shorty Award? Let me begin by stating I think the best motivation in life is passion and enjoyment – two things at the heart of ausretrogamer, and one should never do things just for the prize. With genuine passion, your reward is meeting other likeminded people from all over the world. Social networking, Twitter in particular, has broken down country borders and has allowed all of us to congregate in communities to share and engage. It truly is a global village. I am happy to be a part of it. That said, being nominated for a shorty award is a lovely bonus and an encouraging sign that we are on the right track.
My daily (ausretrogamer) tweets are to engage in conversation, be informative and most importantly, entertain anyone that would care to listen (or in this case, read tweets). The culmination of my passion has seen the creation of ausretrogamer.com – the Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine, an independent video games site dedicated to old-school retro gaming. The site aims to spread the nostalgic vibe of retro gaming by being informative and entertaining. Even if one reader is informed and entertained, then the job is done.
For those that have nominated me for a Shorty Award, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am truly honoured.
If you would like to vote for ausretrogamer, go to the Shorty Awards nomination page.
1st down and 10. No, I am not talking about “downing” my first beer with ten to go. I am talking about America’s sporting past time, football! What’s bigger than the Super Bowl? It seems nothing much else, except for the FIFA World Cup final and perhaps the 100M sprint at the Olympics.
Well, when it comes to video games based on American football, you had a few choices in the 1980s. Sorry Tecmo Super Bowl, you miss out by a couple of years (Ed: I can hear the collective boos!). Let’s just say, the 80s football games were a tad crude when compared to their more illustrious contemporaries.
So, which gridiron games from the 1980s were (and still are) worthy of a play? We set out to sort the wheat from the chaff and have come up with a list of (somewhat) worthy 80s football video game contenders that will help you pass a few hours and also get you in the mood for the upcoming Super Bowl. Hut, hut, hut!
RealSports Football [Year: 1982 | Publisher: Atari | Format: Atari 8-bit platforms]
Football video games had to start somewhere. This is not the most realistic football game, but you have to appreciate it for the time it was released. Overly simplistic with five players on each side, this was the Madden of its day!
10-Yard Fight [Year: 1985 | Publisher: Nintendo | Format: NES]
As far as arcade conversions go, this was a crude top-down vertically scrolling football game. However, back in 1985, you didn’t have much choice when it came to football games on the Famicom/NES.
4th and Inches [Year: 1987 | Publisher: Accolade | Format: C64]
Before the glitzy TV Sports Football on the C64, 4th and Inches was the definitive American football game on the 8-bit micro, with a side-on play field to boot!
TV Sports: Football [Year: 1988 | Publisher: Cinemaware | Format: Atari ST / Amiga / C64 / DOS]
As the 80s drew to a close, Cinemaware published this very sleek and thoroughly enjoyable gridiron game. This was the genesis for latter football video games. Simply brilliant.
NFL [Year: 1989 | Publisher: LJN | Format: NES]
It comes as no surprise that the much loved NES had an embarrassing riches of football games. NFL didn’t get the best reception, but at least you could play one of 28 official NFL teams from 1988. It also featured a packed playbook, which was novel for its time.
Tecmo Bowl [Year: 1989 | Publisher: Tecmo | Format: NES]
This game does not need any introduction – its reputation precedes it. It was the first football game to feature real NFL players. It was only bettered by its sequel, the sublime Tecmo Super Bowl. Get your NES out and play it!
Before you mention it, we are sorry, we had to exclude Cyberball, for obvious reasons, and we also had to forget about any arcade based football games from the 80s. Did we pick any football games you liked (still like) playing? If not, you can throw your helmet at our editor!
Enjoy the Super Bowl!
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
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
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.
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
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
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
