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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!
Grab the .mp3 of the 8-Bit Keyboard Cat music
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.
Just in time for Christmas, it’s the full version of 8-Bit Jesus: Classic Christmas Songs in the Style of Classic NES Games. This full release contains 18 tracks total, including improved variations of a few of the original nine! Please be sure to check out the new amazing cover art for the full release, designed by Jude Buffum.
*EDIT: To listen to the full album right now, please visit the official 8-Bit Jesus page. You can also download the original teaser from this post.
A few weeks ago, USA Today did an article related to the not-so-age-old discussion: Are Video Games Art?. While it was less an address of the debate and more of a presentation of those things that were arguably considered to be such, I found it rather disappointing that a show mentioned in the article, entitled Into The Pixel contained no…well, pixels.
While I am a huge fan of all Video Game inspired art, music, writing, etc, I have to say that it would be nice to see a widely recognized gallery, show, and artist which actually features pixel-based paintings or other works of art containing pixels, squares, what-have-you. It honestly baffles me how at this point in time, with the influence of early Video Games on culture, and furthermore on the current generation of up-and-coming young-to-mid adults, that pixel based art is not a widely accepted or practiced form of abstract/conceptual art…why not? I do realize that pixel-art is most definitely a form to many, however, this acceptence generally happens only when it is created, shared, and viewed soley on a computer, generally over the internet.
Going back to my reaction to the Into The Pixel show; this was the same reaction I had to the series of I Am 8-Bit shows in Los Angelos, CA these past couple of years. I was thrilled to know, however, that a few pieces of pixelated goodness were accepted into last summer’s show, by none other than my talented bro, Jude Buffum. Additionally, the pieces displayed were a set of four from his Happy Endings series.
I personally love the pixel as a medium - simple yet pronounced, sharp but elegant - which is part of the reason I depict naked women, bowls of fruit and other images that once begged for curves and many shades of color to be considered art. I’ve honestly had people tell me that they would f*ck the girl in a painting of mine. And yet, I’ve had others be offended that I would depict naked women, even in such low resolution - my dad among them, nonetheless - though there are no more than 4 or 5 pixels worth of nipple in any of the paintings. That, and I haven’t yet shown any nether region, but I think I just might…
My point is that who’s really to say what is and isn’t art. It doesn’t matter, art is what it is to whom it is. However, one thing that art most certainly is, is a representation, in one way, shape, or form, of the culture and generation which creates it and embraces it. I create pixel art, and I embrace it.
For those that still think pixel art isn’t valid art, I leave you with this image:
I just added an Articles & Interviews section to my side bar here on the blog. Some of you may be more interested than others to check out other official sources who thought my work was noteworthy - I think it’s neat, especially since I find most of the articles while doing a search for my name or something related to what I do, without prior knowledge of the article being written. It’s nice to randomly find sites like Joystiq, Destructoid, Geek Crafts and GamerTell writing articles about my Bead Sprites!
I may be a Nintendo Fan Boy, but I can appreciate oldschool gaming for every platform. While Genesis may be the only system I’ve ever owned for just a week, it did have some memorable music, and you know what that means - it’s time for another compilation album, a Genesis one, from Game Music 4 All!
I just got the skinny from Anthony about the compilation, who insisted that there be a Doctor on the album. I told him Doc Popular was available, but he didn’t fall for that one, so needless to say, I will be contributing one of my own tracks, however, I’m not sure which one yet. Plus, I’d like to keep Anthony on his toes as to whether I’ll finish the track at all - and this wouldn’t be the first time…
You may have heard the Here Comes a New Challenger compilation. If your memory is a bit hazy, maybe the cover art will help jog it!
Who are all those attractive people on the cover? Why, those are all the artists that contributed to the album, of course. I’m in there somewhere…black hat, brown shirt, jeans, grey shoes and black wrist bands - do you see me? No? That’s right, you’re too busy staring at the girls from Zombies! Organize!!
By the way, you can still download all of the tracks from the HCNC compilation for free, right here, on the Media page. Also, if you want a higher resolution image of the amazing artwork for your desktop, or the individual sprites of all the characters, you can find them on the About page…or somewhere around the site.
Anyhoo, this next comp is sure to please. I may not have gotten to do my Chemical Zone track from “Sonic the Hedgehog 2″, but someone will, that’s for sure. Now that I think about it, Genesis games did have some pretty bad-ass tracks to them. Maybe I’ll do a track from “The Great Waldo Search”.
Be sure to follow the Game Music 4 All Blog to stay up to date with the VGM community, and look for the Sega Genesis Tribute Compilation sometime around this October - hey, my birthday is in October!
I have the uncanny ability to build up any situation to be so much more exciting than reality will allow for. I believe it’s my imagination hard at work, but I could be wrong. Having said that, and knowing I have this gift for self-disappointment, I have also learned to seperate upcoming events into two categories:
This is very valuable, although I still build up those items that fall under category #1, those that fall into #2 are sure fire. 32-Bit Genocide is sure fire.
I first attended 16-Bit Genocide on August 16, 2007. Having missed the previous 8-Bit Genocide, I was unsure of what to expect, but I went with my brother, who was part of the Art portion of this Video Game Music and Art Fest. He suggested that I set up a table next to him and sell some Bead Sprites I had made.
Unexpected, and much to my satisfaction, I sold a lot. Additionally, of what wasn’t sold to attendees (around half of the merchandise), all but a few pieces were consigned by the show’s sponsor, East Coast Earthquake. I was overwhelmed and saw a vision:
I was at 32-Bit Genocide, and I was sitting in a chair. In front of me was a table and on that table were many pieces of art - not fine art, but kid’s art…crafts! there were those little ironing beads that fuse together, and they were all depicting my favorite video game characters. There were Pokemon, items from A Link To The Past and Super Mario World, a bunch of other characters on printed backgrounds and then…then I saw the gigantic bead sprites. They were beautiful - Gutsdozer, Ninja Gaiden, Skull Castle, Mega Man X…and people bought them all!
Needless to say, this year is going to be very exciting for me…and possibly very exciting for every one else there - after all, I’m not the only person that is going to be there.
Anyone who appreciates this entry title is probably a good friend of mine.
Of course, this post has nothing to do with Vietnam…well, not in the literal sense. No, I am refering to the masses of electronics I’ve lost in my life time, the most recent being my poor, departed, lap top computer.
The worst part about losing a computer to an unfortunate iced tea accident isn’t the money it costs to replace it, or even the time it takes to get the new system, set it up, and explain to everyone how you spilled iced tea all over it in the first place - no, the worst part is all the work I’ve done over the past year. I have yet to determine if I can salvage the hard drive, but rather then give my hopes up, I’m making the assumption that I cannot, and should it happen that I can, it will be a happy, happy day.
I have a lot of hobbies, many know this about me, and a lot of hobbies means a lot of projects - many in the works, many completed and many no more than a simple text document on my desktop reiterating my ideas to my future self. These are the things that 3 oz. of Arizona can take from you in a heart beat if you’re not careful…which I most certainly was not.
Now, to my real point. We live in a time when electronics, advancement and technology are a large part of most people’s lives. Think about how seriously f*cked you would be if your power went out for a week. Just for shits and giggles, I’m making a list of all the things I wouldn’t be able to do in such a situation.
I could probably go on with more trivial matters, however, this should suffice to say that our society puts way too much stock in electronics. I know this sounds ironic coming from someone who makes his living on the Internet and spends close to 12 hours a day utilizing the aformentioned, but still, I have a point - admit it!
Now, time for another list: Items I’ve lost to the electronic grave, and how I lost them (in reverse chronilogical order).
Once again, the list goes on, and as curious as I am, I don’t even want to add up the cash value of these things, beause it would probably be enough to pay off my student loans.
My girlfriend recently bought me a Nintendo DS for no real reason. I’m not one to complain.
Until a few days ago I played nothing but Phoenix Wright games on the innovative hand-held but I decided to try my hand at a different genre. So, I grabbed a pair of screen protectors for the fury to come and purchased:
Introduction to the Game -- The first thing you will notice about the game is that it is sideways — that is to say, you need to rotate the DS itself 90 degrees counter-clockwise. The in-game screen is the touch screen now on the right and the map appears on the left. During cinematics, both screens are utilized for more dynamic, fast paced story telling (although you are still required to touch in order to advance the frames). I learned to love this feature but it took me awhile to realize why they would program the game in such a way to require you to hold the system sideways, as I’d never seen this before.
Configuration — All movement, fighting, navigation and interaction is controlled with the stylus except for two actions. For accessing the inventory menu, press the start button. To leave the menu you can touch out in the bottom right corner or use start but it is simpler to just touch out. Any other button blocks. This, I believe, is the main reason why the game is sideways on the screens. This enables you to hold the DS in your left palm and use your thumb on the R button to block.
Control — The stylus control takes some getting used to so anyone who has played the XBox or XBox360 versions of this style of Gaiden will likely become frustrated. The most difficult concept to grasp right away is the location of the stylus strokes and movements used to control Ryu. Simply, various directional strokes will cause Ryu to slash with his sword, tap will use projectiles, upward strokes will make him jump and combinations of all these preform special moves like the “Flying Swallow” from the other titles. After the first level I got used to the controls and had no problem controlling Ryu but it is easy enough to compensate the player for the initial unfamiliarity. One neat feature is when Ryu performs Ninpo you use the stylus to trace the form of the character associated with that magic. Each of the seven Ninpo techniques have a different characters but there’s no need to memorize them as you are given plenty of time to trace it.
Graphics and Sound — Few DS games have yet to impress, but this would be ignoring the fact that it is a hand-held system. The graphics for most DS games seem to compete with N64 graphics, to the degree that PSP graphics are similar to Playstation quality. However, this game seemed to reach near Gamecube definition, in a less literal sense. Simply, the size of the screen, the number of available colors and the seamless combination of full 3d environments and pre-rendered backgrounds — these things are utilized very well for an optimal display and performance. Nintendo has always been famous for generally freeze-free and skip-free games, mainly due to their cartridge based systems. Being yet another cartridge based hand-held system, the DS experiences very little loading time and next to no frame skips. Occasionally, there will be a camera angle showing the polygonal inside of an enemy, but this only happens in narrow hallways.
I was not blown away by the music in the game and the sounds often became annoying. The most prominent of these is the sound made when Ryu blocks. I suppose it was meant to sound like a movement of the sword but it ended up sounding more like a pot or pan being smacked with a wooden spoon. Ryu’s grunts also got on my nerves a little, but the character dialogue includes a few less irritating sounds made by the characters to go along with each line of text. Some of them are just plain comical. Although the music wasn’t as memorable as the original 8-Bit Trilogy, it definitely did set the mood for the levels and was well orchestrated. I was pleased, however, to hear the Act Intro music from the originals done with strings.
Game and Storyline — There’s not too much to reveal when it comes to a Ninja Gaiden storyline. Evil demons, Dragon Sword, Ryu Hyabusa, high difficulty level. This particular game, however, may be the one exception to the difficulty level.
Most of the challenge is placed into the control, as the player is often required to fight with a level of precision that is difficult to master with the stylus controls. Still, I found the boss battles to be relatively easy and the level-wide fighting to be more frustrating at points. There are also scrolls to be collected throughout which requires the player to either tap on or shout into the microphone to get them to appear.
Conclusion
Overall, I was very pleased with my purchase of this game. I rarely buy games new if I can find them used but this was more than worth the $39.99 I paid for it. Furthermore, with the option to play through on hard mode after the player beats the game, it has a decent replay value.
I give “Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword” — 8.5/10
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