geekosystem

Disney's Wreck-It Ralph may have come and gone for us yanks in the United States -- hey, we at least have an expedited digital release to look forward to this February -- but our friends over in the United Kingdom are gearing up for the film's countrywide debut, and they did it the best way they knew how: By turning East London's Brick Lane shopping thoroughfare into #8bitLane this past weekend. Although Wreck-It Ralph won't be hitting theaters across the pond until February 8th, Londoners were treated with the opportunity to explore the world as the animated feature's titular hero would see it, complete with life-size 8-bit models of trees, dogs, pigeons, and other common urban sights -- all designed and crafted by sculptor Aden Hynes and his team at Sculpture Studios. Fortunately, the promotion wasn't plagued by adverse weather conditions or programming bugs, and so far as we can tell, no one was injured by having a plumber land on them. Keep reading for a look at the results, and the work that went into them.

Nine Inch Nails has always been part of video game history ever since the soundtrack of Quake (somewhat confusingly attributed to both Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails). But imagine if that classic, industrial sound had its roots even further back in the video gaming world. Well imagine no more, with the help of Kickstarter, Inverse Phase has remade and demade the classic Pretty Hate Machine as an 8-bit soundtrack, and it's pretty awesome.

8-bit graphics as a necessity are long gone. That said, 8-bit as an aesthetic is as vibrant as ever. The blocky pixel art so many of us grew up with is still near and dear to the hearts of many, even as tradional video games and computer generated graphics barrel towards the hyperrealistic. In this video, PBS Off Book explores the world of contemporary artists and musicians who love and utilize the 8-bit aesthetic not because they have to, but because they want to. More power to 'em.

Nobody likes going out on a rainy day, and having an umbrella only makes it slightly more tolerable. Alice Zappe made an attempt to change that with a unique and unusual invention: The 8-bit umbrella. Using speakers, an arduino, and a dozen piezo sensors, the 8-bit umbrella translates the pressure from raindrops on its surface into an improvised orchestra of 8-bit tones. The result is a sort of digitized rainfall noise with a bit of an edge to it.

In the past couple of decades, video game graphics have come a long way, a very long way. But who says realistic is always the best? There was something strangely majestic about old-school adventure game graphics, and maybe it's just a nostalgia thing, but they can be way more beautiful than the modern day stuff. Take, for instance, these 8-bit color-cycled landscapes by Mark Ferrari, a LucasArts veteran. They're absolutely stunning, and hardly state-of-the-art. They are running on HTML 5 though. Time to get excited for the potential of browser-based adventure games I think.

There are some geeky beers out there, but most of them associate with a single series or franchise. 8-Bit Pale Ale, on the other hand, has its sights set a little higher and aims to be the beer of an entire geek era. Produced by Tallgrass Brewing, 8-Bit Pale Ale uses Australian grown Galaxy Hops giving it "a unique tropical, almost melon aroma in a classic American style" according to its makers. If you don't have one sitting in front of you, however, its most noteworthy characteristic is probably its wonderfully designed can, featuring both a hops rocket and a salivating Pac-Man. What else could you ask for? A really weird commercial involving a video game featuring puppets? Sure. Check it out after the jump. Really, it's super weird.

Fake model sheets seem to be turning into something of an artform. Not too long ago we saw conspiracy model sets and now Ty Lettau is tackling the concept as well by creating model sheets of certain iconic video game characters. Each sheet includes the (almost naked) character, their standard clothing and typical equipment along with some more stylish outfits and devices I'm certainly not familiar with. Interesting concept, and I hope there are more to come, although Ty has mentioned on his Flickr page:

There's no shortage of iconic characters, but in order for this idea to work, they need to have many cosmetic changes (suits, power-ups, etc.). I really want to do Mega Man and Final Fantasy, but there's just so little visual change to those characters.

Hopefully he can figure something out. Head past the break for Samus' and Link's sheets.

SoundCloud user RetroPeachy has been demaking some classic television show themes with a distinct 8-bit sound. They're actually a lot better than the description may suggest, and include such TV favorites as The Flintstones, Miami Vice, Alf, Knight Rider and Taxi, among others. Head on past the break to give them a listen and fall deep down the nostalgia well.

Musician and programmer Brad Smith has recreated the entirety of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in chiptune music. According to Smith, every note of this 8-bit tour de force could be produced by a standard North American NES sound chip. Full album below:

We tend to enjoy real life pixelated objects. Now, we have something to throw real life pixelated objects that we no longer like into. Created by Instructables user BrittLiv, this pixelated trash can is made of wood, and carved and painted to look it is graphically underpowered. Check out the creation process over at Instructables.

(Instructables via Neatorama)

Attention anime geeks: This is what Black Rock Shooter and Dead Master characters would look like in 3D 8-bit! Phat! Company will be offering these PVC figures May 11, 2011. If only they were more movable, it could be the most obscure episode of Robot Chicken ever imagined.

(via ALBOTAS)

The Internet loves its homages to retro gaming; however, only a select few of said homages ascend to a higher level where craftsmanship and art evoke just as much of a response as nostalgia and referentialism. Jeff Swenty's 8BITWOOD creations manage to do just that. He writes,

I work in the videogame industry and I thought what better way to pay homage to my favorite games than to cut out thousands of little blocks of wood, stain them, glue them together, seal them and then hang the result on the wall? I work at a videogame developer that is kind enough to let me create murals of pixel art and put them up on the wall for display.

More pics below:

London-based Eclectic Method, self-proclaimed "remix kings" have released a music video containing a mashup of iconic 8-bit video game music tracks and sound effects, set to an upbeat, clubbin' kind of rhythm. Check out the video below, but make sure to grab some glow sticks first.

HP ousts chief for hiding payments to friend (NY Times) Amazing marriage proposal in memes finds success (TDW) PB&J's deconstructed (Neatorama) 8-bit comic superheroes reimagined for the NES (ComicsAlliance) Matthew Vaughn: Superhero movies will be dead soon (Nerd Bastards) Civilization V is starting to sound pretty awesome (GameSpot) The greatest, most dramatic, and silliest Wikipedia edit wars (Gizmodo) Bonus video: The mini-cannon is back:

Today's games are great, but they just don't carry the same immeasurable nostalgic value as, say, Chrono Trigger, Link's Awakening, or even Number Crunchers. Now Stockholm-based pixel artist Junkboy has hypothesized for Swedish magazine Level what it might have looked like had contemporary games—Arkham Asylum, Bioshock, Guitar Hero, Little Big Planet, Red Dead Redemption, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Soul Calibur, and more—existed in the golden age of 8- and 16-bit gaming. Of course, several of these games indeed had low-bit predecessors! Compare the full series of "demake" images to their modern originals, after the jump.