Next month, Left 4 Dead may just take a turn for the retro with an unofficial 8-bit version. The video of the NES-style Left 4 Dead has been kicking around for a few weeks – and like any good zombie, it has risen from the dead for us to admire and then blast with a shotgun. A very tiny shotgun, that is.
Oh, Bill – just as gruff somehow, even when reduced to a pile of pixels. All of the original cast are recognizable in this version, though they surely are giant-headed. Okay, it’s just poor Louis who has a really giant head (or seems to) in this de-make of the co-op zombie apocalypse, but man. It seems to me that having a giant head in a situation like this – one in which your teammates have guns and don’t always know how best to use them – is one hell of a liability. A big one.
Click to View Embedded Video Clip
Eric Ruth plans to release the game next month, but in the future, he’ll be concentrating on a few other de-makes. His hopes include Halo and Psychonauts. Let’s hope everyone takes the homage as well as Valve has.
[via Zombie Command]
Written by alisha k. on December 15th, 2009 with no comments.
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Here’s a fun little game if you’re looking for a fun way to kill a little time today. Mountain Maniac is a wonderfully retro-styled Flash game that involves a little pixelated guy and a hammer (and no, it’s not Donkey Kong).
The game puts you in the role of both the hammer-wielding Maniac, along with the boulder he knocks from the earth when he bashes the mallet into the ground. The objective of the game is simple. Steer the unleashed boulder to wreak as much havoc as you possibly can as it careens down the mountainside to the town below.
Your boulder bounces off of trees, cars, and woodland creatures as it makes its way to the little town below. Think of it like Pachinko meets Burnout’s addictive crash mode meets any game you ever played on your Atari 800. There’s even a bonus level that involves smashing forest rangers and armed guards with your hammer. How can you resist?
So what are you waiting for? Head on over to adult swim games and check out Mountain Maniac now. Smashy, smashy!
[via Indie Games]
Written by technabob on December 13th, 2009 with no comments.
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Pixel art can be made out of all sorts of units, from painted squares to beads… but one item I haven’t previously seen used to product pixel art? Toilet paper rolls. Well, folks, we’ll never be able to say that again. Mark the date.
That doesn’t look so hard, right? If you run across a good deal on a lot of toilet paper, maybe you can even make your own, right? Creator Beru Betto’s even provided a template for you to use, with all sorts of variations, too… including the Prince from Katamari Damacy. Rolled up from rolls. It seems almost too perfect.
Here’s a look at the patterns provided:
Note that the pattern isn’t necessarily toilet paper specific–you could use all sorts of items. But now that you’ve seen this version, why do anything else?
[via Sprite Stitch]
Written by alisha k. on November 20th, 2009 with no comments.
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The folks at Gamersyde were handed some footage of the opening minutes of the PS3 game 3D Dot Game Heroes, From Software’s upcoming homage to classic RPG/Adventure games. The graphics are really neat – it’s like everything is made of cardboard LEGO dot things.
If you’ve seen the trailers before then you’re probably familiar with the graphics, but I believe this is our first glimpse at the HUD and controls of the game. Also, BIG-ASS SWORD!
I don’t know why this dude and his MegaBastard Sword only appears at the very beginning of the game – although it seemed like whoever was playing could control Sir Huge Sword here, note that the HUD is absent – but according to 1UP’s Kevin Gifford, players will be able to customize and swing huge swords. But of course, even heroes have to start somewhere – here’s the puny little fight stick the king gives the hero as he starts on his quest:
According to the same 1UP article that I linked to above, players will be able to choose from three archetypes – the Hero, the Prince, and the Adventurer. If you like none of those three, you can make your own hero, dot by dot, and even customize its animation. Going back to the footage, here’s the world map, which is very reminiscent of Link’s Map in the first Zelda, except that this one is pseudo-3D:
All in all, the game does have a very old school feel, but the cute graphics will probably lure in kids as well. Gamersyde is have bandwidth problems so they’ve disabled embedding for now, meaning I can’t post the video here, but all you have to do is go here to watch the high quality version, and here for the low quality one. You can also download the video if you want. The Japanese version of 3D Dot Game Heroes just dropped this week; a North American release is coming, but we don’t know when exactly.
Written by lambert v. on November 5th, 2009 with no comments.
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How can you liven up the traditional wedding? True quirkiness goes beyond interesting dresses and video game cakes, as one California couple proved with their 8-bit DIY wedding theme. Forget a regular ol’ bouquet. Let’s get pixelated.
When a graphic designer and a video game programmer get married, this is what happens: a profusion of pixels. Not only did the bride walk down the aisle clutching the above bouquet, but the wedding also featured custom 8-bit cake toppers and jewelry for the wedding party.
Perhaps the best part? They made it all themselves. How better to control the exact outcome?
Of course, doing-it-yourself doesn’t always mean you’re saving money. Bride Donelle reports that working within a modest budget was one of the couple’s motivations for their custom wedding, but their DIY efforts cost more than expected. Looking at the final result, though, I’d say it was worth it.
[via Offbeat Bride]
Written by alisha k. on October 23rd, 2009 with no comments.
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It was the biggest of sprites, it was the smallest of sprites… no, wait, I mean they’re both right here next to one another, these Perler bead projects. It’s big Mega Man versus smaller Mega Man:
The bigger Mega Man is almost two feet tall–and would look awesome on the wall–but I personally find this a lesson in the truthfulness of the old bigger-is-not-always-better saw. Giant Mega Man is pretty cool, but adorable early Mega Man remains the cutest thing to come out of video games.
So for me, little Mega Man wins the day. He has slain Goliath. But whether or not you think size matters, one thing is certainly true: there are a lot of beads in that picture.
[via Sprite Stitch]
Written by alisha k. on August 30th, 2009 with no comments.
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You know, square? Like pixels? Oh, lame jokes, never desert me… and internets, please never stop supplying fantastic fan art. Even the dog from Duck Hunt–my most despised video game nemesis ever–looks great here.
Pixel art is a funny thing: it’s both simple and complicated. Artist and Sprite Stitch forum poster Brit.knee reports that, in order to create these paintings, she found beadcraft images or old screenshots and blew them up so that she could count the pixels required to make each picture. After that, it’s a matter of creating a grid on the canvas and “sketching” the piece out that way.
Me, I always like the little details in work like this, and here it’s the hearts on Link’s “screen” that bring a smile to my face. I can picture that screen immediately to the right from the starting point in The Legend of Zelda, and my first encounter with the Octoroks. Good times.
[via Sprite Stitch forums]
Written by alisha k. on July 16th, 2009 with no comments.
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How do you think the Space Invaders figured out their marching orders? With this simple plan, of course!
Now you too can embellish your bedroom wall with a constant reminder of exactly how to increase speed, drop down and reverse direction - just in case you need to do that sort of thing for your job.
The guys at Blik Surface Graphics have now turned Neil Gregory’s hilarious A Simple Plan Threadless t-shirt into a set of vinyl wall graphics you can apply to any room. The complete set comes with 43 colorful wall decals, and instructions to build out your Invader army. When it’s all finished, the design measures in at approximately 60″ wide by 45″ tall, and looks great on any wall - although I think it looks best on a dark colored surface.
The set is available now over at Blik for $45 (USD).
Written by technabob on June 8th, 2009 with no comments.
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