Hasta La Gadget!

Remember those 8-bit video games from yesteryear, with thier pixelized animation and primitive music and sound effects? Well, CineFix is taking inspiration from these vintage games for a new series called 8-Bit Cinema, where they’ll be retelling popular movies in sixty animated seconds of pure awesomeness.

The series debuts with the original Iron Man movie. It skimps on the details but keeps all of the good stuff and retells Iron Man in a fun and compelling way – all in under a minute. You can check out the clip below:

Not only did they nail the major plot points of the movie, but it actually looks like a pretty fun game.

[via Laughing Squid]

As iconic as Q*Bert was back in the 1980s, it was also one of the most difficult and frustrating arcade games I ever played. I never was able to master it, though I’ve done a little better playing it on MAME – without the fear of going broke feeding the machine with quarters. That said, I’m pretty sure I could beat this version of the game.

What you’re looking at here is a 7-inch-tall handmade Q*Bert diorama, complete with wooden cubes and clay versions of Q*Bert and Coily the snake to play with. It also comes with a glass bead (jelly monster) and a couple of those colorful flying discs mounted by the sides of the cubes. Though they don’t actually fly.

Artist Evan Gothelf of Gothelf Bros. Studios handmakes these nifty retro dioramas, and sells them over on Etsy. They go for $45.99(USD) each, and you can choose from a couple of different color schemes. You can also order additional characters if you prefer to take your game board to a higher level.

It sure would be cool if they made a whole series of retro arcade dioramas.

Most geeks I know play their video games in the living room. But even if you play in your room or don’t play games at all, I think you’d agree that every living room needs a rug. That’s where Etsy artist Harmonden comes in.

Harmonden makes 8-bit crocheted rugs of notable characters from video games (like the one above that features Link from Legend of Zelda) and of other gaming-related stuff, like console controllers and other game elements. You can check more of them out in the gallery below.

The rugs are priced from $20 to $45(USD) and are available for purchase from Harmonden’s Etsy shop.

[via Laughing Squid]

Whenever I get a chance, I like to dust off my arcade emulator and try to see if I can get any further at Donkey Kong than the first couple of levels. Even after all of these years, the game still kicks my ass every time. But if the game were loaded with aliens and villains from science fiction and fantasy, I’m betting it would be even harder to beat then going up against Kong and his stupid flaming barrels.

That’s exactly what deviantARTist BazNet set out to explore with his series of Donkey Kong levels inspired by classic science fiction and fantasy movies and TV series. I can’t decide which I like the best, but the Alien and Doctor Who ones are among my favorites. I would not want to try and jump over Facehuggers or Daleks. The Adventure Time version is pretty great too, though it needs more Beemo. There are also The Dark Knight Rise, Game of Thrones, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi levels. And while it doesn’t qualify as science fiction or fantasy, Cookie Kong is pretty swell too.

Many of the designs are available over at BazNet’s RedBubble shop, while you can get the Aliens and Ladders image on a t-shirt over at welovefine.

[via MightyMega]

There’s something very appealing about giant pixels, especially when you can find them all over your gadgets. The company behind these big pixel cases and sleeves has released cases and sleeves for the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. Now all your shiny new Apple gizmos can be retro’d out in 8-bit style.

The 8-Bit Bumper case for iPhone 5 looks a bit sturdier than the one for iPhone 4/4S. It’s got a back that will protect most of your iPhone from scratches as well. There’s a no-friction release system, which is nice because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve struggled getting my iPhone out of a case and putting it into another.

The 8-Bit Sleeve is available for the iPad Mini, and looks like a giant pixelated envelope. It even opens up with the same sort of flap. Just don’t try to lick this one to seal it up.

You can get the 8-Bit Bumper case for iPhone 5 from Big Big Pixel for $26.95(USD). It comes in black or white. The iPad Mini 8-Bit Sleeve costs $29.95.

[via Fruit Bytes]