Tetris is an amazing game. I have played that game for hours upon hours on the funky green screen of my old Game Boy. There have been many different versions of the game that have released over the years, but there’s something just so right about the original. The artist behind these sculptures must have felt the same way, with these clearly Tetris-inspired sculptures.
Swedish artist Michael Johansson has created a series of sculptures, which were assembled using a variety of different household items, stacked perfectly in a Tetris-like fashion. He considered form and function while putting these together. They each ended up as nearly perfect cubes, with different textures and materials.
The only thing that makes these un-Tetrislike is that in the game they would have all disappeared by now thanks to the perfectly stacked lines of stuff.
The sculptures are being shown at the Flat Gallery in Milan, Italy through February 24, 2013. So if you happen to be traveling through the area, you should go check these out.
Because I grew up with video games, pixel art looks great to me whether it’s made of paint, thread or LEGO. But nothing makes pixel art pop more than its original medium: light. Case in point, this nifty interactive picture frame that is simply called PIXEL.
Invented by Al Linke, PIXEL is an LED display that shows pixel art images or animations. The default build of the PIXEL consists of a frame with 1,024 LEDs arranged in a 32 x 32 matrix, so it’s been designed to scale images or animations to 32 x 32. Linke partnered with several pixel artists to make art especially for PIXEL. They come in the form of free Android apps that you can use to beam the images or animations via Bluetooth. Yep, there’s currently no iOS app, which is unfortunate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes soon.
PIXEL can also be used as a mirror when the LEDs are turned off. It also has a proximity sensor, which programmers can use to toggle or change the animation automatically.
You can reserve a ready-made PIXEL by pledging at least $229 on Kickstarter. PIXEL has been a huge success on the fundraising site. It’s already earned nearly $25,000 (USD) in pledges as of this writing, way more than the $8,000 target and with 48 days more to go.
Linke is also selling a parts kit with only 512 LEDs for the much lower price of $99, but Linke admits that the existing art was made only for the 1,024 LED version. Fortunately you can just create your own art and then send it to PIXEL via an Android device. Or you can just mount a CRT TV on your wall.
The love team of Rémy LeBeau and Anna Marie…Something was one of the most popular couples in mainstream comics, partly because for a long time, Rogue’s power meant they couldn’t make physical contact without Gambit turning into the world’s most charming vegetable. How romantic. How frustrating. How weird. If you’re in a similarly intense relationship, then these tees are for you, mon ami.
I have to admit, Gambit’s shiny and muscular armor looks really silly without his trademark trench coat. But I’d take this T-shirt over a Cyclops one any day, because Cyke is a jerk in the current Marvel world. You can order the Gambit and Rogue T-shirts at ThinkGeek for $20-$22 (USD) each.
When I dust off the old Atari Flashback to play games from the Atari 2600, I realize how crappy most of the games really were. The only games which really stand the test of time are the Activision games, like Kaboom!, River Raid and of course, Pitfall. These games not only featured addictive gameplay, but pushed the graphical and audio envelope for the simplistic, but groundbreaking 8-bit home console.
Now you can reminisce about Pitfall every time you have a cup of joe. Each of these 7.5 oz. porcelain mugs is emblazoned with pixelated image of the killer gators from Activision’s Atari 2600 classic. Of course, you really need to line up three of the mugs in a row to achieve the full effect. That’s okay, JamesBit has you covered, and only sells them in sets of three. I know you like your coffee, so it shouldn’t be a problem for you to down three cups at a time anyhow.
Grab a set of three Pitfall mugs over on Etsy for $23.99(USD). It’s how Pitfall Harry drinks his coffee every morning before going off and fighting giant white scorpions.
Jed Henry lit the Internet on fire with his ukiyo-e-style art. Then he worked with woodblock artist David Bull to turn those artworks into actual ukiyo-e prints, which are now under the brand Ukiyoe Heroes. Now Jed and Dave have started a sillier offshoot called Chibi Heroes.
Like the original series, Chibi Heroes are also woodblock prints featuring videogame characters, but they are smaller and simpler. Jed and David hope that “[b]y producing both difficult and rudimentary prints, all of Dave’s apprentices will be challenged according to their experience level. This is our plan to train the next generation of woodblock printers in Japan, and the plan is happening!”
Currently you can order Chibi Heroes on a subscription basis only. For $20 (USD) a month you’ll get two woodblock prints; you can also pay extra to catch up on the previously released prints. Chibi Heroes will eventually be sold separately on the Ukiyoe Heroes website, but Jed didn’t give a specific timetable so it might take a while before that happens.
So now that you’ve finally memorized all of the patterns to beat Pac-Man, what are you going to do with all of that spare time on your hands? Well, you could move on to Ms. Pac-Man, I suppose, or you could try this game, which starts out looking like Pac-Man, but then quickly degrades into insanity.
Created by the appropriately-named Stabyourself.net, Not Pac-Man is just that. NOT Pac-Man. On the surface it looks like the classic arcade game, but as soon as you start playing it you realize something is amiss. Instead of you moving Pac-Man, you move the maze with your mouse or keyboard, causing the ghosts and Pac-Man to go tumbling through the spinning maze. The objectives are the same as the original, but the gameplay is completely different. It’s sort of like one of those labyrinth games, but with Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde instead of ball bearings. Confused? Here, this should set you straight:
It’s definitely wacky, but infinitely more playable than Zero-G Pac-Man at least. So if you’re ready to try out Not Pac-Man for yourself, head on over to Stabyourself.net and download it now – where it’s available for not just Windows, but for Mac and Linux too. Wocka! Wocka! Wocka!
The Roland TB-303 bass sequencer is one of electronic music’s founding fathers, which had its heyday in the early 1980s, and later became the backbeat to just about every piece of house and rave music ever recorded, and is still popular with musicians today. And while Roland is no longer making this seminal synthesizer, at least you can now eat one. Say what?
What you’re looking at here isn’t a synthesizer at all, but a delicious Japanese sushi dish, prepared to look like a TB-303.
I’m not sure what all of the ingredients are, but there’s definitely plenty of rice, and some salty salmon roe in place of the LEDs. In the immortal words of Blondie, Eat to the Beat!
I’ve always wanted an arcade cabinet in my house so I could play all of the classic arcade games like they were meant to be played. But I keep putting off the purchase because I have more important things to do with my money, like pay for food and my mortgage. Still, if I ever have the money lying around, I’ll definitely bite the bullet and buy one. And if I hit the lottery, I know exactly which machine I’m buying.
This extraordinary arcade cabinet was built by Jack Thompson and the crew at ArcadesRFun with a massive Samsung 55-inch LED/LCD Smart TV, and full controls for up to four players. It’s also got a second 37″ LG marquee display at the top so it can display different images up there during gameplay.
It’s got every controller you can dream of, including RGB LED ball top joysticks, RGB LED buttons, an RGB LED trackball (perfect for Marble Madness, Missile Command and Golden Tee), a true 4-way stick for certain games like Q*bert, and dual spinner controls for games like Tempest and Arkanoid, which can be swapped with tiny metal steering wheels for racing games. It’s also pre-loaded with the awesome Hyperspin UI, so it’s easy to flip between games on just about any system you can imagine.
Under the hood, this beast is powered by a Dell Alienware Aurora R4 PC w/i7 3.9GHZ six core CPU (overclocked to 4.1GHz), with 16GB RAM, 2 – 2TB hard drives and a 3GB AMD Radeon 7950 Video card. It’s also got a Blu-ray player. Audio is provided by a powerful 232 Watt Corsair Gaming Series PC speaker with a “giant” subwoofer. And in case playing games on MAME, MESS and other software emulators isn’t enough for you, it’s also got a PS3, Nintendo Wii, and Xbox 360 w/Kinect pre-installed. You’ll also be able to play console games using the wireless Xbox 360 gamepads.
You can also select from other custom controls, such as a Discs of TRON style flight stick (also great for games like Zaxxon), dual light guns, and a special push-pull spinner (also needed for Discs of TRON and its pesky custom controls.)
The original one of these machines was built as a custom commission project for Monolith Games/HD FILMS founder/IGN host Jace Hall, who wanted a single gaming system which could “play every known game ever made.” While I’m not certain that you could play all of these on it, it’s got over 50,000 games covered between all of the emulators and physical game systems inside. It’s unclear exactly what the differences are between the model you can purchase and Jace’s original – its creators only say that it’s “slightly scaled down.”
Here’s a video of the original system. Jump to about 1:10 to see the machine in action:
So how much does all of this arcade and console gaming goodness cost? Well, bust out your 401Ks, because this bad boy is selling for a whopping $19,995(USD) over on eBay. If you’re serious about buying one, ArcadesRFun has a demo unit available in New Jersey. And if you can’t afford $20k, but you still want a cool arcade cabinet, be sure to check out their website, where you can get into a smaller 32-inch, 2-player system for under $3k, or an incredible virtual pinball machine, complete with force feedback, for about $8k.
Guess it’s time to dump that lowly 60-inch flat screen and upgrade to a 100 or 150-inch screen, because you’ll want something more size appropriate if you’ve got an NES console this big sitting in your living room.
This gigantic NES console from Pixel Art Studios is actually a coffee table, and it comes with a pair of side tables that look like giant cartridges, and a pair of jumbo drink coasters that look like NES controllers.
And while it doesn’t actually come with an NES console, you could always stash one inside the hinged cartridge door and hook it up to your TV. There’s even a pair of outlets on front for you to plug your console(s) into. I suggest that you get one of those old CRT projectors that can throw a 100 inch picture and has lots of old school scan lines.
The first six sets are available for pre-order now for just $1450(USD) – including shipping – and that’s for the table, side tables, coasters, and two pieces of 18″ x 18″ gaming pixel art to finish the look. After those sells, the price will go up to $1700 with shipping. Head on over to Etsy and get your living room outfitted in 8-bit style now!
Few villains enjoy a level of popularity as HAL 9000, which is why it’s not surprising that ThinkGeek’s newly released life-size replica of the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey is already sold out despite its significant asking price.
The replica is based on “actual movie blueprints” and “original studio files.” I bet there were “geniune film documents” and “authentic cinema records” involved as well. The replica is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and of course has a red LED eye. It also speaks, cycling through 15 phrases taken from the movie. You can trigger its voice using the included remote control, but it can also be triggered by talking to it. The latter is way cooler, but don’t expect it to call you by any other name but Dave.
ThinkGeek is selling the replica for $500 (USD) each. I know you’re already throwing money at the screen and are raring to order the replica but as I said, it’s already sold out. ThinkGeek did say that it will be back in stock by January 15 so hold on to your money until then.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
