Virtual dog walking
I’ve never understood video games like DDR or those interactive boxing games, but here’s one even that crowd might balk at. Apparently Tokyo arcade goers latest challenge is taking their dogs for walks. In this simulation, gamers must control walking pace and keep a sharp lookout for perilous-puppy hazards like other dogs and seductive hydrants.
Photo and story from CityM.org.
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The Amazing Nintendo House (aka my dream home)
Sometimes you see something so amazing that your jaw drops and can’t be lifted back up for a few minutes. Such was my viewing of this Nintendo house, created by a fraternity at Carnegie Mellon University. Every single feature, from the Zapper staircase to the Game Boy on the side, is carefully crafted and simply a visual masterpiece.
This structure solves a problem that I’ve pondered for ages: how can I demonstrate how much I truly love gaming just from my home decor alone? Now, I have something to aspire to. Not enough pictures of this fine structure exist, but take a look at the Flickr album for more awesome shots! Thanks to the folks at Destructoid for unraveling the mystery of this fine house’s creation!
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More Microsoft news - color barcodes
Microsoft has recently announced the development of a system to encode more information onto their DVD discs and games by using a system of colored, triangular barcodes. These are not meant to replace the black and white, linear barcodes that everyone knows and loves. Instead, disc owners can use a camera phone to read the data stored in the code and access online materials, extra downloads, or other game-related features.
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The art of video games
Into the Pixel is an online art exhibition that features art from video games. It will consist of 16 of the most beautiful images from all video games, published and not.
This is an excerpt from the Into the Pixel main page that I think represents the most articulate testimony to the place of game art in the larger scheme of generalist art:
Video Games are an influential aspect of pop-culture and entertainment whose impact goes beyond the digital arts to influence perspectives in art, cinematography, literature, and even fashion. Behind every game character and dynamic environment are artists whose talents birthed the image seen in the 3-D world.
The above picture is one of the submissions entitled Chicago Train Graveyard, from the game Stranglehold by Stephan Martiniere.
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The Art of Wii - Creativity Meets Technology
Nintendo of Canada is hosting a unique sweepstakes in which contestants can win one of six beautifully crafted, artistically brilliant, hand-painted Wiis. These systems are gorgeous.
Each was crafted by a renowned Canadian artist, and each provides a unique interpretation of Nintendo’s vision for the Wii: one features a friendly bunny waving hello to a friend, while another (pictured below) features a slick character exploding out of the Wii canvas in a fury of 1-Ups and treasure chests (brandishing a Wiimote and Nunchuk, no less).
Unfortunately for me, the sweepstakes is only open to Canadian citizens, but I may pursue citizenship just to enter. Landing any of those sweet systems seems well worth the effort!
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And The April Fools' Day Winner Is . . .
Overclocked Remix, a site specializing in arrangements and remixes of video game music, absolutely blew away the rest of this years’ April Fools’ Day joke field.
The site today released a soundtrack featuring 18 remixes —mixes of perhaps the single most clichéd song in the vgremix world: Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3.
But most of the comedy comes from the music itself. The headline song, Ice Cap Hurts by djpretzel, is simply an old mix of djpretzel’s (subtly enough, entitled “Love Hurts”) with Ice Cap awkwardly overlaid on it. Another gem features a ridiculous a capella rendition of the artist singing her name and the song’s name repeatedly—to the tune of Ice Cap.
The rest of the humor stems from the hundreds of site members who have not yet realized this is a joke, including remixers who have threatened to quit the site over the poor quality of the collection. Clearly, they did not hear the toilet-flushing (literally) beats in this song.
Is it a bad thing that I really like some of them?
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