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'Elden Ring' is getting the Game Boy demake treatment
Elden Ring is famous for its rich open world, but it just got turned into an 8-bit rolling animation adventure demake that's... kind of amazing.
'Bloodborne' PC demake reimagines the game as a PS1 title
Bloodborne PSX is now available as a free download for Windows PC.
Mesmerizing Quake demake runs on a decades-old oscilloscope
Before Wiis and PlayStations, before you boasted about how many bits your console had, and before Ralph Baer's Odyssey first hit Sears shelves, a bored physicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory cobbled together a little digital diversion called Tennis for Two. Those early days of gaming were spent lobbing a lurid green ball back and forth across a tiny oscilloscope screen, so it's only appropriate that you can now tear through Quake's corridors on a similarly screwy screen. Finnish programmer/artist Pekka Väänänen runs through the process of converting an intensely visual game into a series of sounds that an aging Hitachi oscilloscope interprets as the building blocks of a world here. The end result? Well, it's nothing short of mesmerizing, a simultaneously foreign and familiar take on an experience most of us have long since committed to memory. Don't just take our word for it, though: There's video evidence waiting for you after the jump.
Retro demake 'Hammered' recreates brutal Oldboy fight
Korean tragedy epic Oldboy features a scene of protagonist Oh Dae-su assaulting a mob of thugs in a claustrophobic hallway, armed only with a hammer. It's one of cinema's most vicious fights, and that spirit of wanton violence lives on in Hammered, a pixelated homage to director Park Chan-wook. According to Kill Screen, Hammered was created as part of the Leamington Underground Cinema Festival by Oldboy fan "DavidDraws." Despite being described as a demake, Hammered merely borrows a classic aesthetic while utilizing entirely modern technology. Instead of firing up an NES emulator, those wanting to play Hammered need only visit its website where they'll find a convenient Unity Engine embed and a guide to the game's simple control scheme. Let's be clear, though: Hammered pales in comparison to its source material. It's just not possible to capture the stark brutality of the original scene in faux 8-bit graphics, and there's no reason to bother when YouTube offers instant access to Park Chan-wook's far superior interpretation. On the other hand, at least DavidDraws didn't spend $30 million on his unnecessary remake. [Image: DavidDraws]
Fanmade Gone Home demake given the Fullbright blessing
The Fullbright Company's Gone Home has garnered plenty of fans since launching in August, but one fan in particular has parlayed his enjoyment of the game into an inspired development venture. Fan Seth Macy is in the process of developing a demake of the nostalgia trip, recreating the experience as a 16-bit RPG using the PC software RPG Maker XP. "I got the go-ahead to continue on with my @GoneHomeGame JRPG demake," Macy tweeted, indicating that even The Fullbright Company is anticipating the game's translation as much as we are. Gone Home tells the tale of a sister visiting her family after a semester studying abroad. Greeted by her family's unfamiliar new home, the young woman explores the quiet house and soon uncovers a deeply personal story surrounding her sister's whereabouts. The Joystiq review of Gone Home lauded Fullbright's debut, noting the game represented "a snapshot of a time and family gone by in your absence, but one that is expressed in a way that is practical, restrained and unique to the premise."
Super Hexagon shrinks to 16kb in Commodore 64 demake
Terry Cavanagh's endlessly vexing action game Super Hexagon travels back a few decades for its latest port, arriving mostly intact on the Commodore 64 via the fan-made tribute Micro Hexagon. Homebrew enthusiasts Paul Koller and Mikkel Hastrup created 8-bit version of Super Hexagon as part of this year's RGCD C64 Cartridge Development Competition, following up on Koller's previous C64 ports of Super Crate Box and Canabalt. It's an impressive piece of work considering the hardware (dig that rotation effect!), and comes complete with a SID rendition of the original game's thumping soundtrack. Micro Hexagon is available as a free download, and is playable on emulators and original C64 hardware.
The Binding of Isaac reaches two million in sales
Team Meat co-founder Edmund McMillen recently revealed that The Binding of Isaac has reached 2 million in sales. McMillen noted his surprise at the game's steady success, having first launched in September 2011, on an episode of the Northernlion gaming channel on YouTube."In the first year we sold a million copies, and now we're already up to two million," McMillen said. He also discussed the Nicalis "demake" of the game, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, and the definite inclusion of the Mystery Man unlockable character. The Mystery Man will use randomly-generated items and stats, offering a new challenge to players each time he's selected. McMillen also elaborated on the constraints that Flash presented in developing the game, and how Rebirth would benefit from fewer performance issues.
Barkley RPG sequel seeks $35K on Kickstarter
As expected, the developers behind the strange indie title Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden have launched a Kickstarter campaign to support a sequel sporting the the unwieldy title of The Magical Realms of Tír na nÓg: Escape from Necron 7 - Revenge of Cuchulainn: The Official Game of the Movie - Chapter 2 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. Or, as they call it, just Barkley 2 for short.The campaign is seeking just $35,000 (and they've raised about half already), and in return is offering lots of digital rewards, game soundtracks to download, and weirder bonuses like a full-sized Cyberdwarf body pillow and more.To get interest growing for the sequel, the developer has released a free Mac version of its initial Barkley title, so even on an Apple computer, you can witness the aftermath of The Great B-Ball Purge of 2041 for yourself.
Borderlands gets demade, is playable in your browser and totally rad
You wanna play Borderlands, but you're stuck at your job. Also, the new Borderlands still isn't out, and you've played so, so much of the first one. Or maybe you're only into 16-bit games? The Borderlands remake – an official part of the Borderlands 2 marketing campaign – is here, and it's pretty boss.Well, okay – it's as boss as a top down, 16-bit, browser-based rendition of Borderlands could possibly be. Incidentally, that's far, far more boss than we had imagined. What're you still doing here? Go play it!
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a Commodore 64 game
If you haven't finished GTA: Vice City yet, you don't want to watch this C64 demake because it totally ruins the ending. Then again, if you haven't finished Vice City yet, you're the biggest procrastinator we've ever met and maybe it's time you caught up to the rest of the world.
Super Smash Land (Smash Bros. demake) now available for download
It's been a long wait, but now you can finally get your hands on the Super Smash Bros. demake that caught our collective eye back in February. Super Smash Land is currently available for download over on Piki Geek. A labor of love from Dan Fornace, Super Smash Land features eleven different stages and six brawlers (including Mega Man!), a classic Arcade mode, multiplayer for up to four people and a Polygon Team-style Endless Mode. Heck, there are even online leaderboards! ... What are you waiting for? This is the full game. Go play it!
Team Fortress 2 demade into a 2D beat-em-up
One-man development house Eric Ruth Games has revealed its next project, Team Fortress Arcade, this time turning the first-person antics of Team Fortress 2 into an old-school, side-scrolling beat-em-up. Each character has weapons and abilities consistent with its class in Team Fortress 2. The Demoman, for example, can blast out sticky bombs that explode whenever he jumps, and the Engineer builds turrets that can be upgraded with a few quick whacks of the wrench. Piki Geek landed a hands-on session with the game along with an interview with Ruth himself, which you can see in the video above. Team Fortress Arcade is planned to be released as a free download on the Eric Ruth Games website later this summer.
We Dare trailer mocked with Flash demake, soundtrack recuts
It didn't take long for the video game community to speak out about the plainly ridiculous We Dare trailer released today, and the venom it's inspired has gotten creative. Developers Stew Hogarth and @hypnic__jerk have assembled this Flash demake of the title, and while it doesn't actually require a Wii to play, it offers pretty much the same quantity and quality of amusement we expect from the game. And then there's the trailers after the break, both recut versions of Ubisoft's video with some more ... inspired video game trailer soundtrack choices. These are a must if you like laughing, go check them out. We dar ... aww, forget it.
Super Smash Land demake trailer and demo show off Game Boy charm
Dan Fornace recently published a new trailer and demo for his long-time pet project: A Game Boy-style "demake" of the Smash Bros. franchise titled Super Smash Land. Check out the infinitely charming trailer here.
'Pixel Force: Halo' now available as free download
If, upon seeing the Pixel Force: Halo trailer last month, you were instantly filled with a desire to play Eric Ruth's latest 8-bit demake, then congratulations: You're a human being with a real-life heart beating inside of your chest. The game is available to download right now, for free, over on our sister site Big Download. ... What? That's it. Go, download the game! It's free.
Bethesda 'demakes' Fallout 3 for Japanese New Vegas website
"Demakes" have become a trend in the last couple of years, thanks to things like TIGSource competitions and Eric Ruth's "Pixel Force" games. Now that trend has officially entered the mainstream, as Bethesda has released an 8-bit style demake of its own game, Fallout 3. Well, sort of. The Japanese Fallout: New Vegas website is designed as a Dragon Quest-style RPG, presenting the menu and links as areas on a pixelated map of Fallout 3's Capital Wasteland, with each link leading to an amusing faked gameplay segment, along with a Japanese-language explanation of that particular game element. It's designed to introduce Japanese gamers to the "Freestyle RPG" design of the Fallout games, but it also has the side effect of being awesome.
'Pixel Force: Halo' trailer shows combat devolved
Eric Ruth, the de-make whiz responsible for the 8-bit-inspired Pixel Force: DJ Hero, has given the original Halo: Combat Evolved a retro makeover. The result is a side-scrolling shooter slash top-down Warthog driving game you'll be able to play yourself next month (until Microsoft pulls it).
The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Gang Garrison 2
Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Sam Goldberg, Simeon Maxein and Shawn Fraser. Sam and Simeon are the two founders of Gang Garrison and Shawn is a senior developer who was directly responsible for the major updates colloquially known as Gang Garrison 2.0 and 2.1. How did you or your company get started? Sam: Back in 2008 the TIGSource.com forums' design competition theme was "Bootleg Demakes," asking developers to take a modern game and remake it as though it were a bootlegged game created in generations past. I had just discovered Team Fortress 2 that summer and was playing obsessively, so it seemed almost intuitive to try and do a TF2 demake. I posted my ideas on a thread in the forum for hooking up with collaborators, and Simeon, our programmer extraordinaire, responded. We quickly got to work prototyping, and by the end of the competition we had a rather impressive little multiplayer demake that garnered us a lot of players and attention. We came in second place and our success, as well as our following of dedicated fans, encouraged us to set up our own website and faux-company, so we could continue developing and perfecting the game.
Pixel Force DJ Hero now a beautiful 8-bit reality
Eric Ruth Games' Pixel Force DJ Hero is no longer just an idle YouTube distraction, something to load up in the background so you can listen to chiptune Joan Jett/Queen mashups while you write Joystiq posts (or whatever it is you do while listening to chiptune mashups). You can now actually download and play the NES-style rhythm game "demake" for yourself! Even better news: Ruth also released a new video, featuring an awesome chip mashup of the Ghostbusters theme and Huey Lewis & The News' "I Want a New Drug." So you have something to listen to a few dozen times if you have some more posts to write (or, again, whatever your job may be) before checking out the actual game.
8-bit Left 4 Dead now available
You've salivated over its pixelized undead for long enough, the day has finally come when you can play the retro, 8-bit version of Left 4 Dead that we first told you about in November. The free game is now branded Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead and is apparently the launching pad for a whole Pixel Force franchise forthcoming from creator Eric Ruth. You can feast your fingers on the two-player co-op action right here. [Via Blue's News]
