If you’ve ever wanted to wear a shirt with a kick-ass pixelated logo, and have people ask “who the hell is Doctor Octoroc?”, now is your chance! Just follow click the image below to get your Doctor Octoroc T-Shirt, featuring the logo designed by Jude Buffum.
I’ll get to the title soon, but first…
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I despise people who use others’ ideas and don’t give credit. I have no problem with being inspired by other artists and basing new creative efforts on their work, but I always credit my sources and link to them.
While it’s shameful to use someone else’s idea and not credit them, it’s downright dispicable to sell someone else’s design for your own profit, which is exactly what happened with the 8-bit interpretation of the keyboard cat that Jude Buffum created!
I won’t go into details in order to protect the identity of the person that did this, but I will say that running a design that someone else spent hours making through PC-Stitch and selling them online, making a profit only due to the viral effect of the original video, is up there on my list of “things that Internet people do that weigh down the scale of Mother Nature, just rid the earth of humans now“. Okay, I’m done.
And while Internet theivery runs rampant, some good can come from it. Apparently, this cross-stitcher has compensated Jude for the money he/she made from the “scam”, and he was motivated to meet the demand for an 8-Bit keyboard cat t-shirt. Click the picture below to get your 8-Bit Keyboard Cat T-Shirt on MySoti.com!
Jude Buffum and I have been talking about collaborating on a number of side projects lately, the first of which was his idea for an 8-Bit Keyboard Cat video. If you’re not familiar with this phenomenon, I highly recommend you check out the official Keyboard Cat website. Once you get the picture, then watch ours!
Check the links after the video!
Visit Jude Buffum’s website for more great pixel-based illustration an more!
As some of you know, I run an online forum called Pixelgasm, which is dedicated to all forms of nerd art, but more specifically video games, and even more specifically, bead sprites. One of our long-standing members, Faith, writes for a number of blogs and is constantly mentioning the forum and it’s amazing members, for which we are all very appreciative - except for one former member (who was eventually banned from PG for insulting multiple members who had done nothing to deserve it, and just causing unnecessary drama in general). Even after being banned from Pixelgasm and deviantART, this online terror of a person has been seen popping up here and there on other sites spouting insults and flat out stupid opinions that don’t apply to those at which she directs them, but always are a clear statement of her poor character. The latest outburst from her was on one of Faith’s blog posts about different types of “girl gamers” and how some efforts to even the playing field in the gaming industry for females have only made things worse for them - it was a fantastic article, but this person was just plain hateful towards Faith and other staff on the blog.
I don’t mean to carry on about the former PG member, but I wanted to describe the situation which has motivated me to offer my opinion (a dude’s opinion) on…
First off, guys and girls are different. That’s just science at work - and I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. Clothes are designed and manufactured to cater to these differences, television shows (and even entire stations *cough* Lifetime and Spike *cough*) are geared towards one gender or the other, and everything else from toys to magazines do the same because of the simple fact that guys and gals like different things, save an overlap in the middle that appeal to both.
There have been some groups of females in the past that seem to think that the video game industry has not joined the ranks when it comes to equal representation of the sexes, and I may be inclined to agree - however, consider the following:
Simply put, women like to buy clothing more than men do, so the clothing manufacturers make more clothing for females. Likewise, more men like to play video games than females, so the industry markets more of its material to men. If women want an equal share in video games, then there needs first to be an equal percentage of girls that play video games.
I understand that this is only one example, but to make a point, no man has ever said to another (let alone created a website to campaign for the cause): “there aren’t enough clothing choices for me out there…I wish the clothing manufacturers out there would cater more to our needs!”
Okay, so where am I going with this? Wasn’t I talking about the current state of the female voice in the video game industry? Well, I still am, but I’d like to make clear a broader point before I dive into the topic - every industry caters more strongly to one gender or the other, that’s just how it is because, like I said before, dudes and chicks are different.
So the video game industry doesn’t cater enough to females, some say? The history of gaming will clearly show that the further back in time one looks, the higher the percentage of male gamers versus female gamers will rise, thus suggesting - nay, proving - that percentage of game-loving ladies, moving forward, is increasing, and therefore the difference between those fractions is becoming smaller by the hour. From my observations, the percentage of games marketed toward girls has increased as well. The number of “girly-colored” handheld systems available has also increased. Additionally, the number of female lead roles in games has also risen, not to mention the ability to create your own character in a lot of games, so hey, you can be a girl or a guy, and you can even make it look like you! These games are my favorite, actually, and I generally spend more time creating my character than I do playing the game.
I suspect the problem is not that the industry hasn’t catered (and been catering for years) to the females that play games - it’s that they either haven’t catered fast enough, or well enough, for some of the female gamers anyhow.
Concerning the rate of gamer-related items marketed towards women, it will only increase as fast as companies in the industry can expect to make money from those marketing efforts. Let’s face it, they may love their jobs, but making games is just as much about making money as it is in the film industry. If the demand (and therefore the money) is there, then so will be the supply. That’s business 101.
Now, moving on to the good stuff - the content of the games. I’m talking about the roles that male and female characters play, the outfits that they where, and the size of their…brains? i kid…
A lot of complaints from the roughly one third of gamers that makes up the female gamers is either that the majority of games [that they want to play] does not have the option to play as a female, has a female character that is inferior to the male character in the game, or the role and/or outfit of the female objectifies her in poor taste. I’ll admit, I find it hard to believe that the girls of Soul Calibur II are wearing historically accurate battle clothes, but it’s not like Kilik, Maxi, Astaroth, Hong (Yunsung), Mitsurugi, Nightmare, and Lizard Man don’t have outfits than expose significant portions of skin. The “objectification of men” may not be as severe as it is of women, but it is there - it’s just that we don’t give a shit.
Here’s a comparison I just thought of (and may not have thought through too well):
What’s my point? Well, it’s clear that men love playing a game where the male character is anything, or everything, that they are not. It’s been done since the 70’s and there hasn’t been one complaint from guys about this, because it’s a fantasy experience, like taking a vacation. I don’t live in the Bahamas, but I went there on vacation because it’s a lot nicer than Pennsylvania. Likewise, video games provide that “vacation” from a job, spouse, family - whatever! A lot of female gamer advocates have expressed to the industry that they want their equal share in the games that are produced. They want an equal number of games for females, an equal stat bar as a female character in games with both genders available to play, and they don’t want to play as a scantily clad, big-breasted woman…wait a minute - If guys like playing a character that is everything they are not, why don’t women enjoy the same experience? Probably because females are more likely to consider this representation objectifying, but I don’t see it that way.
The representation of men and women characters in video games seems equal to me, or at the very least, proportionate to the numbers - so what’s the real problem?
Feel free to leave a comment telling me what you think!
Most people who come to my blog do so for two reasons. Retro music and retro art. Seeing as the semi-recently released Bit.Trip.Beat is an insane combination of both of these things, I figured I’d offer my opinion about the game.
Overall, it was well worth the price. I can’t say I didn’t wish it was longer than 3 levels, but damn were they tough. I’m not the most avid video-gamer, so perhaps this game would be easier for someone of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band mindset. Okay, time for the in depth review…
Introduction to the Game– Without referencing any outside opinions or reading anything about the game, the plot seems to be a crude pixelated man floating through space who is either piloting the player’s pong-like paddle or acts as the enemy, which tosses pixel after pixel of “star dust” and debris at you as you chase him from planet to planet…or something like that. These pixelated pieces contribute tones to the bit-licious soundtrack as they enter the screen, collide with your paddle, and when they leave the area. They come in all formations and speeds and move in patterns from straight-on to a sin-like zig-zag, and in some ways that cannot be described with words. Some of my friends have watched me play and stated “this game was made for you”, as if to imply that it is not made for everyone…I would have to agree. This is not a button mash or careless swinging of the Wiimote - it takes a good feel for the controls (however simple they are), and a lot of practice, just like the good old days!
*shakes fist at Ninja Gaiden II*Configuration– All you need is the Wiimote. It makes things simple, just like the graphics, sound and music in the game.
Control– The setup is simple: the player holds the Wiimote sideways and tilts it forward and back to shift the paddle up and down. The buttons all make tones of their own, but thus far I have yet to find a purpose for them. It just seems to serve as one more distraction for the player, so I’d recommend forgetting I said anything about them…
Graphics and Sound– The graphics are bad. Very bad. Intentionally bad. I love it. While the graphics themselves are not of high quality, since that’s the point of a throwback to the Atari and Nintendo days, the use of these graphics is great. In the foreground of game-play are very simple pixels, more reminiscent of Atari graphics, but the use of transparency and varying levels of pixel size add depth to the feel of the graphics. Once things start to really pick upthings can get a bit confusing, due to the number of solid, bright colors flying around, but that’s the nature of the game, not a graphical flaw. The background is horribly distracting, since there is so much cool stuff going on in the background with what can only be described as 3-D pixels. In the third level, there is a brain being constructed almost like legos…very cool to see if you’re not the one playing, but frustrating if you are playing. The key is focus.
Another cool thing about the graphics is the danger mode. Basically, once you miss a certain number or percentage of “beat-pixels”, the word “danger” starts flashing in red around the screen, then you enter a completely monochromic mode with no music, and simple pong sounds. If you continue to miss too many pixels, then the game is over. If you recover, however, then you re-enter the normal colorful, upbeat mode. It’s really satisfying on some level.
The music, especially for a huge fan of chip-tunes like myself, is near perfect. The way the tones and notes interact with the game-play is so baffling, it must have taken a genius to design and program the sequences the player faces throughout the game. Each level has a different, but very catchy tune that may very well get stuck in your head from playing the levels over and over. Once you are comfortable enough with the game-play (or have played enough times that you have essentially memorized the first half of the current level) it’s really cool to watch all the pieces and how they contribute to the song.
Game and Storyline — Not much to say here, since it’s a party game. As I mentioned in the intro, the storyline is open to interpretation, and the game itself is simple for the sake of fun.
The challenge level is up there, but I wouldn’t say it’s super-hard. It’s difficult, but not near impossible. The third level might raise the bar significantly higher above the second level than the second did above the first, but all-in-all, what is required of the player is not impossible. The patterns may be very challenging, but the player is afforded quite a few mistakes.
Conclusion — Overall, great game, very fun, addicting (for as long as it lasts), and well balanced in terms of the challenge it presents. I do wish it was longer, but it’s probably better that it’s not, considering the level of frustration one could experience from the game.
I give Bit.Trip.Beat an 8/10 by today’s standards and a 9.9/10 as a personal rating…but I’m just old school like that.
This made me very happy…
While I was unable to hit my original end of May release goal, I’m getting very close to releasing the free digital preview download. A few things remain, the first of which being a name for the damn thing! If anyone has any ideas, shoot them my way. Whoever comes up with the best name, whether or not I use it, gets a free copy of the press!
Until then, I want to throw a few more teasers out there, the first of which is a video of the MidiNES at work, with one of the unreleased songs from the album, Airwolf!
Enjoy!
As the title of this post suggests, I have run into some set-backs with the new album release. No, Ein is not in need of vet care, thank goodness! My computer is having some problems, namely, it likes to shut down unexpectedly, and after four hours on the phone with Dell support, nothing has changed. I’m going to keep at it, trying my best to finish mastering these tracks while I can, and resisting the strong urge to throw my laptop out the window, just so I can bring you fine folks another free music download!
Stay tuned…your regularly scheduled program will return shortly…
For anyone that’s been wondering where I’ve been for the past week or so, I just moved. Not surprisingly, I packed my beads and music-related stuff last so I would have a chance to work on various projects until the day I moved, with the intention of jumping right back into the action once I was settled in. Here is it, about a week after the move, and I haven;t even unpacked my beads - but I have been working on learning the in’s and out’s of MidiNES, starting with transfering the tracks from my upcoming 80’s and 90’s TV themes and cartoons album.
Soon, I’ll be back in full swing, but I need to take a vaction from work and hobbies, so I’m taking Memorial Day to do so and then it’s back to the grind!
For those who’ve never heard of MidiNES, it was created by a genius by the name of Chris Kann, aka x|k. This modified NES cartridge plugs into the Nintendo like any other cartridge, and via any external MIDI device, one can utilize the NES soundcard to create their own original chip-tunes using the authentic NES sound.
Needless to say, I’m excited to try this out with the tracks I’ve been working on for my upcoming TV Show and Cartoon Themes album, due for release at the end of May, 2009. Up until now, I’ve been utilizing plugins that merely simulate the NES sound, but this is the real deal!
I’m going to make my best efforts to convert all my current tracks to be compatible with MidiNES for a better sound, but with a move in mid-May, a busy work schedule and other projects going on, I may be cutting it real close.
