One of my fondest memories as a child was playing Bubble Bobble with my brother on the Amstrad CPC 464. We only had a green monochrome screen so didn't have the colourful palette but the game blew me away, later in my life I'd come back to the game time and time again on more colourful consoles. Whilst falling down the YouTube rabbit hole I found this tribute to the game and felt waves of nostalgia overtake me. Have a look at this loving tribute to a truly awesome game.
What If Michael Bay Directed 'Up'?
Ah Michael Bay, King of Explosions. Ah 'Up', King of hitting you in the feels... but what if Michael Bay directed up? See the results in an entertaining mashup.
Top 125 Nintendo Games for 125th Anniversary
Nintendo is 125 years old this year, it started off as a playing card manufacturer and branched off into toys (check out Before Mario for extensive details) before finding international success with the games consoles. IGN is celebrating this momentous occasion by playing through the top 125 Nintendo games on it's website, I'm loving watching the games come up and reflecting on my journey with Nintendo. Have a look yourself and see which games you have fond memories of.
30th Anniversary of the Amstrad CPC 464
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Amstrad CPC 464. The computer launched in the spring of 1984 by British manufacturer Amstrad. The "color personal computer" (CPC) was a success in Britain and across Europe, selling 3 million units. It sold far less than the Spectrum and Commodore 64 but these are impressive numbers for the third placed machine.
The CPC 464 operated using the BASIC language and was equipped with a cassette tape deck, a Zilog Z80A processor running at 4Mhz, and 64KB RAM. The first set of Amstrads came with monochromatic (green) monitors was many programmers first introduction to coding. An entire generation of gamers, now probably in their thirties and forties, grew up with the device and games such as "Gauntlet," "Barbarian," "Arkanoid" and "Rainbow Islands."
The CPC 464 was my first computer and I still have it. I have kept my favourite games but I have fond memories of "Target Renegade," "R-Type," "Robocop," "Chase HQ," "Continental Circus," "Ghost and Goblins," "Super Robin Hood," "Fantasy World Dizzy," "Head Over Heels," "Rainbow Islands," "New Zealand Story" and "Barbarian."
The Moomin Shop, London
Ah, Finland.... the land of.... well actually I don't really know much about Finland except that it's education is supposed to be really cutting edge. However one thing I DO know about Finland is that it was the country of birth of Tove Jannsen, creator of the wonderful Moomins. The Moomins are a family of white, roundish fairy tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses.
I first came across the Moomins in the 80s in the creepy stop-motion felt animation on ITV. The animation style was very unsettling and the music was suitably atmospheric. As I grew older I could see the animation style resembled eastern blok animation like 'Hedgehog in the Fog,' Jan Svankmajer or even the music video 'There There' by Radiohead.
The 80s animation scared me but the 90s 104 episode cartoon series changed all that, the animation style was more traditional and cutesy and I was hooked. Since 2006 the Moomin books have been available in hardback by Drawn and Quarterly, who are to be congratulated for producing beautifully put together volumes. I have purchased the first two and am working my way to get the whole collection.
Whilst walking through Covent Garden, London with my wife I came across the delightful Moomin Shop. Upon entry into the shop you are faced with a huge mural of the Moomins which sets the mood. As you go up the stairs to where the shop is located you go into the forest and meet Little My, floating on her umbrella. The shop has everything a Moomin fan could want from dish cloths, cutlery, t-shirts, china to non-alcoholic wine! My wife and I bought a lot of stuff and loved the experience. I even had a chance to meet Moomintroll!
If you are a fan of the Moomins you have to go to this amazing shop!
OverClocked Remix
I love Overclocked Remix a website which was founded in 1999 which is dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form.
In it's own words:
The ocremix.org website features thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, and resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.
Here are a few of my favourites:
Lego Arcade
We all love Lego right? Well Michael Hickox REALLY likes Lego and his channel is full of Lego Stop motion vids, I like this one because of the computer game connection but check out his channel for more brick-based goodness!
rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes Concert
rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes is an orchestral concert series with the music of beloved video games including Journey, God of War, and Guild Wars among others. The concert will debut at concert halls worldwide this summer. I have booked tickets to see the show in London on Friday 26th September at the SSE Arena, Wembley and am looking forward to seeing the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform these pieces live. Check out the link below to order your own tickets.
8-Bit Matrix
The Matrix sequels were awful, plain and simple. However there were some standout moments and Philip Raupach has used a scene from The Matrix Reloaded and created an 8-bit sound mix... it has turned a pretentious overblown film into a action comedy movie. Check it out below!
Harry Potter (Scott Pilgrim Style)
There are many people who upload trailer mash-ups on YouTube, however most are instantly forgettable but there is a shining beacon who always edits amazing trailers and that person is The Unusual Suspect. He has used clips from the different Harry Potter films and given them an interesting twist, using fast paced comic timing and onomatopoeia to create a trailer more like the Edgar Wright Scott Pilgrim film. So here for your viewing pleasure is the trailer and I've also included the original Scott Pilgrim trailer. The battle to destroy the seven evil horcruxes is on!
Tetris Stop Motion 3D Chalk Art
Artist Chris Carlson specialises in the creation of 3 dimensional drawings and paintings. He has done loads but this one is one of my favs. Check out his website for more awesomeness!
Arcade Font Writer
Game developer Richard Davey has created Arcade Font Writer, the generator lets you pick classic game fonts of the 80's and 90's arcade scene. There are classic fonts from Sega, Konami and Capcom on franchises like Art of Fighting, Street Fighter II and Ghouls and Ghosts. The best part is that once you have written your message, you can save the image as a .PNG image file and save it or spam your friends with it!
Dora the Explorer and the Destiny Medallion
Dora the Explorer features the adventures of young Dora, her monkey Boots, Backpack and other animated friends. Now College Humour has done a spoof live-action version of the show which is definitely not for kids.
The shorts are in 3 parts and play with aspects of the TV show, including Dora addressing the camera, waiting for the audience to solve puzzles for her, and translating Spanish to English.
The sketches feature Ariel Winter, Alex in Modern Family and are hilarious. Check it out!
The Advantage Plays Rocking Moon Theme from Ducktales NES
Whilst listening to a podcast I heard about a band who play rocking covers of classic NES chiptunes. The Advantage is an American rock band from California, USA that formed in 1998 and specialises in doing covers of music from old NES games. The band is considered to be one of the original pioneers of the Nintendocore genre and widely praised for bringing video game music into the spotlight. This is a piece I particularly like, check out more videos on youtube!
Man At Arms Creates Cloud's Buster Sword
Tony Swatton, a master swordsmith who has created hundreds of real weapons for films and for pleasure, has created the ultimate nerdy sword.... specifically, Cloud Strife's iconic Buster Sword. Fans of Final Fantasy 7 will know the sword is unwieldy and in the words of Swatton himself, "Redonkulous."
Have a look at how the sword is made in the video below and prepare to be amazed.
Leo's Fortune Brilliant Rube Goldberg Trailer
Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who, as well as creating political cartoons was best known for creating a series of popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. His drawings were so influential that they influenced many people and industries, including Wile E. Coyote in Warner Bros. cartoons, Wallace and Gromit and more recently in the phenomenal OK Go! music video.
Most recently the game Leo's Fortune has used the idea of the Rube Goldberg machine to create a brilliant trailer.... don't take my word for it, have a look yourself!
Manga Video Intro
Back in the days before Blu-Ray, HD, DVDs and even the internet there existed one company which spread the word of Japanese animation in the UK and that company was Manga Videos. I remember seeing their logo and thinking it was cool, I'll never forget the first time I bought my first Manga, Guyver Episode 1. This intro preceded all the films and man it got me hyped to see the film. Obviously we had other companies come along and take the mantle of best purveyor of anime and manga but none had a kick-ass intro like this. Enjoy!
Before Mario
Nintendo was established in 1889 as a toy and playing cards company. For the majority of its existence Nintendo was producing Japanese-style hanafuda cards and Western-style playing cards as well as toys and games. However Nintendo's former history is often forgotten due to the success it achieved afterwards with the Game and Watch and various game consoles that followed.
The Before Mario blog showcases the toys and games Nintendo created in the period from the mid 60's to the early 80's. Starting with the first board games up to the launch of the Family Computer in 1983.
It really is an amazing website as it taught me so much more about Nintendo than I ever thought I knew. Take a look and educate yourself, I did!
The Ultra Hand, created by Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi.
Top 25 children's TV Intros
As a child of the 80's I have a lot of nostalgia for the classic cartoons of my childhood, whilst YouTube surfing I found this video and loved the pumping music and awesome animation. Enjoy folks!
Calvin and Hobbes Gritty Reboots Trailer
As a huge comic nerd I have massive love for Bill Wattersons amazing Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. The comic follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious, mischievous, and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his sardonic stuffed tiger. The comic books have sold over 45 million copies worldwide and is one of the most syndicated comics in the world, published in over 250 newspapers.
This Gritty Reboots trailer puts a darker edge on the Calvin and Hobbes story but I like it, see what you think....