Since its early days of bedroom coders the computer game industry has evolved to become one of the largest industries in the world. The BBC have created an interesting a multi-media timeline charting the rise of the British gaming industry. It's well worth a look and could be useful to integrate into Computing lessons.
Modern Day Icons in the Flemish Style
Sacha Goldberger is a photographer and artist who has taken inspiration from the great Flemish artists of the 16th and 17th century to portray modern day icons as they might have been presented in those ages. It's a beguiling and arresting look achieved through the use of incredible constumes, lighting and models who look similar to the characters they portray.
I've shared one picture below but I would definitely recommend his website where he uses the Flemish art style to portray Marvel and DC Superheroes too!
Cool Geeky Christmas Jumpers
Christmas is coming and to to get yourself in the mood why not spruce up your caboose.... or general chest, stomach, arm- okay top half of your bod. These awesome Christmas themed jumpers put the Festive in Festival. My fav is the Superman insignia on the red snowflaked theme background. What's yours?
Celebrate Back To the Future Day- Tour the DeLorean 3d Style
Perhaps you live under a rock and didn't realise (either that or you're not a fan of social media) but today is Back to the Future Day. There are many memes, articles and videos out there but one of the most impressive I've seen is a 3D model of the DeLorean and the City Hall. The art was created by Alejandro Santell and uploaded to Sketchfab just in time for this momentous day. Check it out in the link below!
Megadrive Portable
There are many ways to play 8 and 16-bit games out there; as well as the simple option of emulation there are the dearth of clone systems and retro machines. There are many ways to play the games of yore but I was recently handed a Megadrive Portable by my cousin who was having a bit of a clear-out. The machine itself costs around 30 pounds and I think this is an excellent value. Its certainly a cost effective alternative to getting an import Sega Nomad and an Everdrive cartridge. The machine comes with an SD card slot and the fact that by downloading roms from sites like emuparadise you can add pretty much have every single Megadrive game ever made is brilliant.
A real perk of the system is that the AV out is great to connect up to your TV or in my case, the projector in my mancave- I have spent many an hour laying down in my futon look up at the projected game on my ceiling plugged into my headphones playing my way through my childhood games.
There are only a few negative points, the main one being that the speaker isn't great quality. The machine doesn't have the Yamaha YM2612, the six-channel sound chip developed by Yamaha, and so the soundtracks don't sound like they used to (not a bad thing in some cases sure, but for games like Streets of Rage 2 or Thunderforce 3 a real loss). The controls are good without being spongy but don't feel as solid as the Megadrive controllers.
Overall the system is well worth the asking price and the litmus test is that my two nephews (aged 5 and 3 1/2) love playing the system. Even though there is no way to play two player in the games there are plenty of great games on the system to sink your teeth into.
London Gaming Market
Wondering what to get your other nerdier half for Christmas. Well, if they are into computer games why not get them some old skool video games? According to their website:
The London Gaming Market is THE place to buy retro video-games, board games and merchandise all in one place.
London Gaming Market will be held every 4 months at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square London. The launch will be on Sunday 15th of November 2015. Future dates will be March 6th 2016, July 3rd 2016 and November 6th 2016.
The doors open at 11am, tickets available on the door. Early entry tickets cost £5, tickets after 12PM cost £2. Children under 14 can enter for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
I'm looking to go when it open on the launch day and will post pics online, but hopefully it will be a chance to catch up on getting those few rarer items I'd like for my man-cave.... I'm looking at you Donkey Kong Game and Watch.
Lasertime Patreon Swag
I've been a long time listener of Lasertime, an irreverent and fun podcast that looks at multimedia including film, TV, comics, music and pop culture. They look back with nostalgia and give it a fun spin, some of their podcasts include Ultra descriptive title theme songs, Adult jokes in kids cartoons, The best unaired pilots and Animated vanity.
There are many spin-offs and side projects from the original Lasertime and these are:
Cape Crisis
Cape Crisis is hosted by Henry Gilbert on a weekly basis. This show predominantly, if not exclusively features news and discussion about comic books and other forms of sequential art.
VGMpire
VGMpire is hosted by Brett Elston and features discussions about video game music.
Cheap Popcast
Cheap Popcast is hosted by Dave Rudden and is released on a monthly basis, usually near the same time as an upcoming pay-per-view wrestling event. I'm not a fan of wrestling so don't listen to this one but if you are a fan then this would be great for you!
Vidjagame Apocalypse
Mikel Reparaz, hosts Vidjagame Apocalypse, a podcast that features news and discussions exclusively about video games, with some episodes featuring journalists from other game sites including Games Radar.
Talking Simpsons
In June 2015, a new podcast, Talking Simpsons, hosted by Retronauts host Bob Mackey became available to the podcast's patrons on Patreon. The podcast focuses on discussing each episode from the long-running animated series in chronological order. The first season of the podcast is exclusive to Patreon donators, while following seasons will be available to the general public.
Bonus Time
Exclusive to the podcast's Patreon supporters, Bonus Time is a weekly companion to the main Lasertime podcast, hosted by Chris Antista, Henry Gilbert, and Dave Rudden.
As a $5 Patreon supporter I get the Lasertime sticker, it arrived today and I am very happy with it. It takes pride of place on my Macbook. If you haven't listened to any of the Lasertime network shows I heartily recommend that you do.
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses will be touring through North America and Europe as part of a world tour. Dates for the shows have been announced, and more will be announced next year.
The Legend of Zelda Symphony includes brand-new music and visuals from Tri-Force Heroes, as well as songs from the previous Zelda games. Game moments from the series will be timed with the orchestral score approved by Zelda composer Koji Kondo.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had the Symphony perform and boy was it amazing! I'm booking tickets for the London leg of the gig, if you're a fan you should too. The link is below!
This is the current venues and dates announced:
- Nashville, TN, Schermerhorn Symphony Center; January 21, 22
- Boston, MA, Symphony Hall; February 23
- Costa Mesa, CA, Segerstrom Center for the Arts; March 8
- Toronto, ON, Sony Centre; March 19
- Jacksonville, FL, Moran Theatre; March 24
- Kansas City, MO, Music Hall Kansas City; March 26
- Memphis, TN, The Orpheum; March 31
- New Orleans, LA, Saenger Theater; April 1
- Columbus, OH, Ohio Theater; April 3
- Charlottesville, VA, JPJ Arena; April 8
- London, UK, SSE/Wembley Arena; April 23
- Guadalajara, MX, Auditorio Telmex; May 11
- Monterrey, MX, Arena Monterrey; May 13
- Mexico City, MX, Arena de Ciudad; May 15
- San Antonio, TX, Majestic Theater; May 21
- Los Angeles, CA, Dolby Theater; June 13
- Austin, TX, Long Center; June 23
- Montreal, QB, Place des Arts; June 25
- San Francisco, CA, Davies Symphony Hall; August 21
- Atlanta, GA, Cobb Perf. Arts; September 10
- Edmonton, AB, Southern Jubilee; September 21
- Vancouver, BC, Queen Elizabeth Theatre; September 23
- Paris, FR, Palais Des Congres; October 8
- Lisbon, PT, Coliseu de Lisboa; October 14
- Essen, DE, Grugahalle; October 15
- Chicago, IL, Chicago Auditorium; November 12
If Real Life Was Like An Anime
What if real life was like an anime? Well to explore that question is Leslie Wai, a YouTuber who has created a collection of every day situations with stereotypical anime emotions!
Zelda Vs. Peach Smackdown
Youtuber Andrew McMurry has made a short film starring a smackdown between Zelda Vs. Peach. The two Nintendo princesses get into a serious brawl and the result is an awesome vid.
The Art of Glen Keane
Glen Keane is not a name known to many but he is an accomplished artist who worked on many Disney films including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and much more besides. Having left Disney in 2012 Keane has pursued more personal animation projects and the results are stunning. Below are two wonderful examples of his work; Duet follows the life and love of a boy and girl from birth and Nephtali follows the journey of a ballerina who transcends the dance. Both are beautiful and show the power of traditional 2D animation. I must admit that Duet struck a chord with me, particularly the scene of the young girl growing up as having recently become a father to a girl I get more emotional about stuff like this. Anyways enjoy!
Titano is a Modern Day Silent Movie Short
I love silent movies, as I've mentioned several times before on this website, and this new short by Ben Chavda is wonderful. To quote the blurb:
An old man looks up at a faded movie poster and remembers a time when the world knew him as the terrifying monster TITANO, star of a dozen old films. What he doesn’t know is that once the sun goes down, he will have one last opportunity to give the performance of a lifetime and deliver a scare that will never be forgotten!
This short only runs at about 5 minutes but hits you in the feels. Wonderful stuff!
Hang 'Em Hyrule
The guys at beatdownboogie have created a brilliant short film merging elements of Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and The Legend of Zelda. The costumes, scenery and cinematography are all top notch. Special mention must also be made for the soundtrack which is inspired by the great Ennio Morricone and particularly his work on For a Few Dollars More.
Check it out below!
Springfield is About to E.X.P.L.O.D.E with Bartkira
One is the manga that brought Japanese animation to the masses and is considered a bonafide classic, the other the longest running comedy series of all time with some of the most iconic characters of all time- combine them both and you have Bartkira.
Artist Ryan Humphrey had the idea of merging the worlds of The Simpsons to that of Akira, however what started off as an internet meme has grown into a collaborative project of over 100 artists who are recreating the 2000 page Otomo epic in Matt Groening's image. The first 3 graphic novels have been complete and are available to read for free. Also recently there has been a Bartkira trailer created and whilst it is a bit shaky in places the fact that this is a collaborative fan-made passion project is really heartening to hear.
Super Turbo Atomic Mega Ninja Rabbit
Animation in the 80's was great, especially for someone like me who grew up on shows like Mysterious Cities of Gold, Ulysses 31, Dogtanian and Around the World in 80 Days with Willie Fogg. I have a rose tinted view of past cartoons and I am obviously not alone in feeling this as Wesley Louis has created an incredibly well-animated opening sequence that stylistically recalls the style of animation that was created from Japan, China and South Korea, much to the ignorance of the Western pubic.
The bad tracking and white noise associated with old video tapes from the 80's is perfectly used to make it seem like an actual show from the 80's or early 90's, it reminds me mostly of Bucky O'Hare.
In Wesley's own words:
Wesley Louis drew 'Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit' as a comic when he was 13. It was time to realise the dreams of a geeky kid by animating the intro to the best TV-series that never was. 'Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit' A love letter to Saturday morning cartoons from the 80’s and 90’s.
To check out the video click below and for the HD clean version without the white noise and bad tracking click on the video link below that. Enjoy!
Silent Hill Live Concert in London
Akira Yamaoka, the composer of Silent Hill franchise amongst many other games, is going to be in the UK performing live pieces from his scores. This is Yamaoka's first live performance in the UK and this is a very exciting event for a number of reasons, including the fact that P.T, the next planned installment in the Silent Hill franchise has been cancelled and that Konami is pretty much closing shop on AAA titles, focusing on cheaper mobile gaming and Pachinko. This may be the only chance you get to see a true hero of gaming music in action. Tickets go live on Friday 11th September and performances will be across the UK from the 29th Oct to 3rd November. I'm hoping to get a piece of the action and will be by my computer awaiting to buy tickets, make sure you are too!
Silent Hill 2 had an amazing storyline, enhanced by the brilliant music.
Manga Now Exhibition at the British Museum, London
The British Museum is one of my favourite place s in the world; not only is it a magnificent building but it houses some of the worlds greatest treasures. I go there every month at least for a couple of hours to take in the wonders of the ancient world. However the British Museum has teamed up with some manga artists to create a new free exhibition called Manga Now; the displays feature newly commissioned and recent pieces by Chiba Tetsuya, Hoshino Yukinobu and Nakamura Hikaru. Out of these the only artist I know is Hoshino Yukinobu from his masterpiece 2001 Nights. I loved the 10 part space opera and look forward to seeing some of his more recent work. I am also excited to see the work the other two artists have produced and maybe discovering new artists to follow, always a boon! The exhibition is on from now until 15th November 2015. I'm going this weekend to see it and will post some pics and give a report on the exhibition.
My collection of 2001 Nights, from the original 1990 run- a real collectors item!
Hell's Club- Where Film Icons Meet
I like me a mashup; taking lots of examples of one media type and fusing it to create something quite new and original from the old. Antonio Maria Da Silva (AMDSFilms to his friends) has taken this idea and run with it to create the ultimate film mashup of iconic film characters. In his own words:
There is a place where all fictional characters meet. . . Outside of time, Outside of all logic, This place is known as HELL'S CLUB, But this club is not safe
TERMINATOR VERSUS TONY MONTANA VERSUS TOM CRUISE VERSUS CARLITO BRIGANTE VERSUS BLADE VERSUS JOHN TRAVOLTA VERSUS AL PACINO VERSUS PINHEAD VERSUS THE MASK VERSUS ROBOCOP VERSUS DARTH VADER VERSUS MICHAEL JACKSON.
This is one awesome edit and deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. Spread the word!
Frozen Unnecessarily Censored is Hilarious
Frozen is a wonderful children's film that has seen the song 'Let It Go' become a phenomenon around the world. However the Jake Vale Show, inspired by Jimmy Kimmel's Unnecessary Censorship has turned it slightly vulgar. The result is hilarious and shows how much a bit of censorship can make the most innocent things sound dirty. Enjoy!
Metal Gear Solid V Japanese TV Commercial
Ahhh Japan, famed for it's amazing electronics and quirky sense of humour as highlighted in films like Lost In Translation. Ahhh Metal Gear Solid, famed for it's incredible gameplay and bad-s#*t crazy storytelling. Now combine them both for a Japanese TV commercial for the game and you get something truly special. As of yet to subtitles have not been provided but you'll get the gist of the advert when you see it.... it is something truly unique.