Life Through The Pixel Glass - 04/18/2013

h man, you guys -- it’s been forever and then some since we’ve done a Life Through The Pixel Glass, hasn’t it? Well from all of the review games we’ve been catching up with on top of the Bioshock Infinite Game Club that rode the coat tails of GDC and PAX East, it’s needless to say that we’ve all been pretty busy. That’s why we’re going to go ALL OUT in this latest one. It’s going to be the biggest LTTPG feature we’ve done up to date.

As far as what we have down the pipeline, we’re going to be a lot more consistent with this feature again now that the dust has settled. We’re going to start launching more videos with some of the new software we picked up, and I also grabbed up a new Laptop: the Alienware MX18. I pumped the sucker out with the Optional dual 2GB NVidia video processing and stacked-out hard drive to deliver the goods for on the go streaming and playing. I just hope the battery doesn’t crap out on me the way I’ve heard Alienware laptops have been infamous for doing.

PAX Prime has also opened up. I hope many of you prepped for the registration. It seems that the tickets have already sold out, regardless of the expo extending to a whopping four days. So without further delay, let’s check out what we have under the hood for this latest addition to Life Through The Pixel Glass.

The music stylings of chiptune and beat-box rhythm have always had a weird relationship when it comes to melody because of how the notes seamlessly intertwine with one another regardless of tempo and composition, and yet they stand apart so differently with when performed individually. The stylings are the perfect ingredient for an incredible nerdy mash-up as long as you have the right cook, and DJ Cutman is no slouch in that department. Signed to Gamechops Record Label, the self-proclaimed pioneer performer dabbles in a variety of melodies and notes to achieve a synthesized digital sound through collective beats reminiscent of both retro video game soundtracks and hip-hop funk beats that work as a tribute to the former. Each song from his wide array of albums uses games as a muse for his work, which continually inspires each subsequent release. From effervescent synth work to deep bass beats that that hit with immaculate consistency, his music definitely warrants a place on your player if not to just sample the rhythms he produces or collaborates from reworded scores out of your favorite classic games.

The fine folks at Analogue Interactive are currently working hard to refine the already classy lifestyle of the Neo-Geo enthusiast with these kicking new MVS consoles made for home Televisions. What may appear to be a fancy adapter at first glance is actually sophisticated reworking of hardware. The MVS slim is able to work with every single MVS cart with no issue and is compatible with nearly every TV on top of that. The real charm is the rich cherry wood within its design, smoothed over to fine grain that’s both aesthetically and technically functional. One of these bad boys will set you back $650 but if you’re wanting to celebrate some of the best that the 90’s had to offer for video games in style then there’s no classier war way than with that beautiful block of oak plugged into your television.

 

It can be argued that when an artist achieves their vision, they can either be revered as true artists or madmen. Michael Birken falls into both categories.

Done over the course of 11 months and with 5,722 still photos, Birken created one of the most articulate sprite works and animations done yet with his “Post-it note Arcade,” which commemorates two arcade classics: Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. The detail and ingenious pixel positioning in contrast to the post-it notes used makes it begged to be watched by all gaming enthusiasts, as it displays the adoration of one man and how he wanted to celebrate gaming.

Whether a roasted turkey just appeared from a thug's chest after he's beaten to a pulp, or you find some pot roast stuck within some foundation bricks of a haunted castle, food has always had a prominent place within gaming. As a tribute of this, Gourmet Gaming bridges the gap into real life cuisine with their gaming inspired recipes. Want to get saucy with a Serrice Ice Brandy from Mass Effect? Maybe you have more of a sweet tooth, and could see yourself going for a Pumpkin Pie from Minecraft. It’s all there with detailed recipes, and the difficulty involved with the culinary process of making them for your pleasure. Gourmet gaming is updated every Wednesday, so check it out here.

 

Do you ever find yourself reimagining games into ridiculous modern movie trailers? In case you don’t, Gritty Reboots has you covered, and has managed to apply this reworking to very obscure titles. While their work isn’t simply restricted to video games, the two trailers they’ve done so far depict the grim theatrical reality of their game counterparts, Harvest Moon and Pokémon Snap. The videos speak for themselves, and use some familiar tropes and clichés that are to be expected from the modernization of epic movie trailers. Give any support you can give these two trailers, especially since it may lead to the creation of other video game trailers being produced in the future. Personally, I want a Streets of Rage trailer. Make that shit happen, Gritty Reboots!

From the pages of the DIY crafting site Instructables comes a handedly unique creation from the user “Dragonator.” He constructed a ceiling lamp that resembles GlaDOS from Portal 2 in her sentry camera form. The thing also doubles as a fully functional robotic arm with an LED light to enhance its authenticity. The result is frightfully accurate reenactment of the devilish AI in your own home that you control and illuminate as you replay some of her famous lines of dialogue and nerd out to everyone in the room witnessing the results of your hard work because Dragonator will tell you everything you need to know to make it yourself.

We’ve featured different stuff from Fangamer dozens of times, and yet they keep finding ways to outdo themselves. The latest addition being the Power Mitt, a Power Glove inspired take on the household oven mitt. It’s not bad. It’s pretty convenient and, uhh, unlike the real Power Glove, even useful. For 15 space dollars, you can order one to be shipped out to you from here. And for the leftys, you can make an arrangement to special order one just for your weird blasphemous dexterity preference.

1UP Alumni, talented games writer, and past Press Pause Radio guest and friend Ray Barnholt has been doing this magazine called Scroll for some time now since his departure from 1UP. If you haven’t read it yet, you’re cheating yourself hard. Ray has independently written, formatted, and produced nine issues so far and is now seeking to gain pre-sale funding for his work on the tenth. The cover feature will focus on Boku no Natsuyasumi, and Ray plans on obtaining the funds needed to interview directly with the creator, along with some other surprises content-wise. For those who aren’t up to date yet, I highly recommend purchasing the first nine issues, or even going all out with the Kickstarter rewards. Either route you take will net you some of the most insightful and genuinely entertaining editorial about video game history for a long time to come.

If recent titles like Katawa Shoujo, Corpse Party, or Hakuōki taught us one thing, it’s that visual novel games are still a thing, and Pseudomé Studio wants to continue the trend. Their project, Errant Heart, aims to shake up the visual novel scene where the indie developer wants to westernize the genre in hopes to appeal to a larger demographic with captivating characters and a compelling story unlike others we've seen before. The 1940s European setting has a myriad of characters to interact with for players to play on all home computers, operating software, and tablets that you can check out on the demo provided. As of now there are 22 days left to go. We wish Pseudomé Studio the best of luck towards successfully funding the venture.

The LGBT faction of the video gaming community is slowly voicing their presence more and more with confidence as we gradually mature into a more accepting community. It’s a beautiful, wonderful thing.

That being said, one group took it upon themselves to start a documentary highlighting the journey and direction of the community when it comes to socializing with gamers; it’s called Gaming in Color. The documentary wishes to focus on the hardships and obstacles many individuals faced, including the stories of those who have opened themselves to the distinction from their fellow peers, what they’ve learned, and where they hope to see the the community venture in the future. The documentary has reached over half of its goal, and with another 22 days to go, you'll have an opportunity to fund a project that helps enlighten yet another aspect of experiencing what it’s like from someone else's perspective.

Normally we just stick to promoting Kickstarter projects, but IndieGogo is seeing its fair share of interesting projects as well. Among them is one that's definitely worth checking out.

One-man studio developer Lionel Gallat who’s worked on modern animations like The Road To El Dorado, Shark Tale, Despicable Me, and The Lorax wants to develop a game reminiscent of old Zelda titles, Ico, and Dark Souls. These are just some of the key bullet points, and only a fraction of the developer’s pedigree. The scope will be concentrated into a much smaller experience since Gallat isn’t trying to deliver the next Skyrim or Zelda, but merely borrows elements that help convey story of a brave mouse on the island of Periclave. The game is currently at 15.900€ strong, and has another 25 days to go. After watching the video, we’re hopeful for its success and look forward to this project getting successfully funded. The game is also on Steam Greenlight, so give it some love.

We love pointing you guys towards some incredible indie games, ESPECIALLY when they’re free. And boy howdy, we have a huge selection of recommendations to throw at you this time around. There are so many, in fact, that we don’t have the room to talk about all of them, so considering that they’re free, we suggest maybe, I don't know... that you should just DOWNLOAD them and PLAY anyway.

Tiny Cartridge is one of those weird multi-cultural sites in terms of gaming, as they pride their coverage around handheld gaming and yet manage to cover editorial over a wide scope of topics around video gaming. If the sweet design and sharp editorial doesn’t get you, the community and humor will, because, you know, Lizard… am I right?

Super Gaijin Ultra Gamer is one of those blogs that brings out some of the more interesting and obscure concepts from Japanese games and manages to encapsulate all with genuinely entertaining writing with a cheeky sting. It’s updated frequently enough and consistently delivers content that’s worth checking out if you’ve ever wanted to see some of the weirder peripherals from Japan. And you will soon... believe me.