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Black Mirror Goes Retro

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blackmirror_titleBlack Mirror is back with new episodes and it’s as dark, beautiful, fascinating and sharp as ever. It’s everything a good sci-fi TV series should be, that Charlie Brooker is a genius!

Black Mirror takes aim at social media in Nosedive and Hated In the Nation, while Playtest is an Inception-like mind-bending cautionary tale about VR. They’re all fantastic, but our real favourite is the uplifting and beautiful San Junipero (episode 4). It’s simply oozing with retro goodness: music, fashion, and (most importantly) arcades from the 80s and 90s! Here are some nods to video gaming pop culture that we spotted in San Junipero as well as Playtest. Did you spot others?

Edge magazine makes a cameo in the Playtest episode, Black Mirror series 3
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Look closely at those shelves, you may see some retro goodies
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Perhaps Charlie Brooker is a fan of Edge magazine…
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We spot some PS3 and PS4 gaming goodies!
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Going back to 1987 in episode 4, San Junipero
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We’d be smiling too if we were about to play Bubble Bobble!
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Ah, Nemesis (aka: Gradius) is there too!
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The golden age of arcades make it too!
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No way, Time Crisis!
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We really need to visit Tucker’s!
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Image source: Black Mirror on Netflix

 

Shorty Award Nomination

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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.