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8-bit Mad Men Choose Your Own Adventure looks awesome, is awesome (video)
Hearing "8-bit", "Mad Men", and "choose your own adventure" all in one sentence is a bit too much for us to handle. But yes, that's very much what we have here. So, if you just can't hold out those final few days until the next season of whiskey swilling misogyny, then hit up the video above and make your own story in the meantime. Just don't forget to take your shoes off before bursting into Cooper's office.
8BitMMO, an indie sandbox MMO from Archive Entertainment
Sort of like a two dimensional Second Life, but without the thriving sex industry, 8BitMMO is a top-down, java-based sandbox construction game currently under development at Archive Entertainment.Its world, built entirely from scratch by users, supports up to 250 concurrent players in a persistent environment, who can either craft on their lonesome or join with others to create collaborative constructions. A "grief protection system" prevents malicious ne'er-do-wells from jackin' with your craft, should you choose to build alone. There's also "basic" PvP and PvE combat, as well as "amusing quests and unusual enemies" like the Lawyercat.Despite still being under construction, the latest build is available for free at the game's official site. %Gallery-150961%
Retro-themed sandbox 8BitMMO announced
Archive Entertainment is looking to get a slice of the massive Minecraft pie (which is square, not round), as the team has dived into the concept of a retro-style sandbox MMO called 8BitMMO. It may not boast the most incredible graphics, but that's kind of the point; players who recall their NES days with fondness will be right at home with the presentation on display. 8BitMMO is touted to be a "100% player-built world," where anything can be built, destroyed, and harvested for raw materials. Up to 250 players can occupy a server at the same time, and there's the option to group or go solo while you build, explore, or fight off the evil LawyerCats. There are quests, PvP engagements, and methods of protecting one's buildings from griefing. This project is the sole creation of Robby Zinchak, who was formerly a producer at Microsoft. Zinchak has been working on 8BitMMO since 2001 and is impressed with the creativity shown in the game so far: "People are creating some genuinely cool architecture - everything from towering windmills to sports arenas. One player even made a huge statue of a flying dragon. The community is very inventive, and I can't wait to see what they'll come up with next!" Currently, 8BitMMO can be played on the official website as it continues to be developed. You can watch the trailer for this interesting project after the jump. [Source: Archive Entertainment press release]
Kickstarter begins the new year with a Glitch
If this is the direction Kickstarter wants to take its future project line-up -- video-game-inspired and of creative, high-quality production -- we're on board. Kickstarter's official first Project of the Day of 2012 is Glitch, a fledgling webseries about a 20-something video-game tester who begins seeing 8-bit glitches in his real, otherwise completely average, life. Imagine it as a mix between Office Space and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. If that doesn't convince you to donate to the Glitch cause, the above trailer might. If that doesn't sell you, the prizes you earn by helping fund the project might. If those don't sway you, you're probably suffering a brain hemorrhage in your "potentially really entertaining webseries" lobe, and you should get to the hospital immediately.
Nexus ninjas return in retro game, give you the skills to perform your own epic unboxing
Tiny box destroying shinobi? Old hat. Fourth wall obliterating martial masters? Passe. The future of ninjitsu based phone unboxings will be found in the past: Google's gone 8-bit. Continuing in its tradition of out doing every possible Nexus unboxing the internet could ever hope to bear, El Goog has crafted a retro beat-'em-up game that puts you in the Nexus ninja's mask. Your mission? Secure and unbox the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The game is playable directly on YouTube, but is also available in the Android Market under the title Clash of The Nexus Ninjas -- in case you've already performed your own unboxing. If you haven't? Hit the source link below to begin your training.
AMD FX processor brings eight cores to battle, we go eyes-on (video)
AMD fans have endured a long wait for this, while being reduced to spectators as Intel spews out an ever-increasing horde of Sandy Bridge variants and builds up the hype around its next-gen Ivy Bridge architecture. But the new FX series of processors is finally here and will be available to buy in the next few days, with the top-end FX-8150 priced at $245 in exchange for eight cores, a 3.6GHz base clock speed and easy over-clocking to 4.8GHz using the packaged Overdrive software. Your AM3+ motherboard is crying out for the upgrade, but don't succumb until you've clicked past the break -- we've got details of the full range and pricing, our initial impressions and an eyes-on video that includes a detailed chat with the guys from AMD.
OutRun AR project lets you game and drive at the same time, makes us drool
Cool game, or coolest game ever? That's the question we were asking ourselves when we first came across Garnet Hertz's augmented reality-based OutRun project -- a concept car that weds Sega's classic driving game with an electric golf cart, allowing players to navigate their way around real-life courses using only arcade consoles. Hertz, an informatics researcher at the University of California Irvine, has since brought his idea to fruition, after outfitting the system with cameras and customized software that can "look" in front of the car to automatically reproduce the route on the game cabin's screen. The map is displayed in the same 8-bit rendering you'd see on the original OutRun, with perspectives changing proportionally to shifts in steering. The cart maxes out at only 13 mph, though speed isn't really the idea; Hertz and his colleagues hope their technology can be used to develop game-based therapies for disabled users, or to create similarly AR-based wheelchairs. Scoot past the break to see a video of the car in action, and let your dreams converge. [Thanks, Stagueve]
8-bit glasses lower the resolution of your bank balance
Haven't you heard? 8-bit is the new black. A trend that started with ThinkGeek's April-Fool's-turned-real-product neckties quickly spawned other accessories like watches and hair bows. Now, people with more money than sense can hop on the chiptune style-train as well, thanks to SAMAL Design's new line of pixelated glasses. The specs are available in two styles: "5dpi," which are based on hipster-friendly plastic 1980s Ray-Bans, and "6dpi," which are based on hipster-friendly 1980s dad-glasses. One pair will set you back 280-ish bucks, and will be precisely in style if American Apparel ever manages to produce an 8-bit v-neck.
Jack Eisenmann's DUO Adept: a homebrew 8-bit computer built by a high-schooler (video)
We've seen some impressive case mods and some wildly inventive DIY projects, but rarely have we seen a homemade, 8-bit computer housed in what looks like a Tupperware container. Meet the DUO Adept: a project begun last summer by programmer, hardware hacker, and recent high-school graduate Jack Eisenmann. Lovingly crafted from a television, an old keyboard, 100 chips (not a single one more), and lots of wire, the system has 64K of memory and outputs a 240 × 208 black and white image. Eisenmann designed his own operating system and even wrote several games, including the Donkey Kong-esque "Get Muffin." Hit the source link for a gallery (including circuit diagrams!) and see the video below for a demonstration, complete with 8-bit era music.
The Perfect Ten: Sequelitis
As a long-time movie buff, I've always been fascinated by sequels. I know, they have a terrible reputation and everyone gets this face like he's digesting a porcupine when discussing them, but there's something fun about them as well. I think we always want a good story to continue, to see what happens next, and to answer the question, "What would the first film be like if it were put in the hands of a complete boob?" It would be an entertaining trainwreck, that's what. Even though the MMORPG genre is in its toddler stage, it's seen a number of sequels, prequels and spin-offs, just the same as other types of entertainment. Video game sequels for hit titles are safer financial investments than striking out into new territory, so it makes sense that MMO studios would follow this pattern as well. Right now there are loads of MMO sequels and spin-offs in the works -- including EverQuest Next, PlanetSide Next, Guild Wars 2, Mabinogi 2, MapleStory 2, Phantasy Star Online 2, Dust 514, and even a possible Ultima Online sequel -- so it's safe to say that the trend won't be dying down anytime soon. However, today I want to look at 10 sequels that already made it to release and briefly examine how they stacked up to their predecessors. Oh yes, there will be blood after the jump -- and I will drink your milkshake!
Chip Maestro turns your NES into a MIDI synthesizer
Are you hoping to one day start your own Starscream, Anamanaguchi or other totally radical chiptunes band? Your musical outfit could have a worse origin than this: As part of a Kickstarter fundraising campaign, you can donate $50 to grab a "Chip Maestro" -- an NES cartridge that turns your old-school gaming console into a decidedly new-school MIDI synthesizer. If you've got a MIDI-compatible keyboard (or even a MIDI converter for your PC), you can start recreating the 8-bit melodies of your youth -- or the poppy, energetic melodies of tomorrow. Check out the device's Kickstarter page for a video demonstration of its capabilities! [Thanks, Tom!]
Game Boy makes music of a different sort (video)
Don't get us wrong, we know that Nintendo's original 8-bit portable can create some killer sounds -- we'd never sell chiptunes short. That said, you haven't truly heard Game Boy music until you watch the video above.
TUAW's Daily App: 8-bit Pocket Camera
The iPhone's camera has only gotten better over the years, with higher resolutions, better ways to deal with low lighting and brighter colors than ever. But here's an app that passes on all of that technology for a much more retro feel. The 8-bit Pocket Camera app is designed to take pictures the old-fashioned way: as low-res black-and-white 200x200 pixel .tiff files, just like the old Game Boy Camera and other early digital cameras did. Why would you want to take pictures that way? Well, you might not. But it's more of a nostalgia thing; just as apps like Hipstamatic are great at making iPhone pictures look like old film or old instant cameras, these pictures might take you right back, if you happen to have taken some shots in the right time period. There's a real raw quality to these, and I don't mean .RAW files. These are straight up black-and-white shots, full of digital noise and pixelated lines. They may not look great, but they certainly have a feel to them, and with 8-bit Pocket Camera, you can take these pictures, put any number of old-school effects on them and send them out via Facebook or Twitter. The app's currently on sale for a launch price of just US$0.99.
A series of unfortunate demises: classic arcade game deaths compiled into a tender tribute video
Whatever your flavor of old school gaming, whether you were a future-loving RoboCop killer or a skeleton-slaying Golden Axe swinger, there's a little slice of nostalgia here for you. The guys from BoingBoing have lovingly compiled some of the most memorable death scenes from the games of yore into a video tribute, and they've been nice enough to leave out the names of all the games featured. There's no Pokémon action in there, but still, can you guess 'em all?
Chiptune festival bleepin' and bloopin' at PAX East
Boston8Bit has teamed up with Magfest to bring three days of chiptune concerts to this year's PAX East. Notable chiptune artists (Animal Style and The Engadget Show's own Zen Albatross, among others) will be performing daily in PAX's "Jamspace" area daily from 11AM until 2PM EST -- we've been told the space is not full of jam, despite previous reports to the contrary. Interested parties should head to the event-within-an-event's Facebook page to confirm attendance, or simply to find additional information. The entire list of performances broken down by day can be found after the break.
Painting with Pixels wall now complete, looking 8-bit and swanky
Throughout the week, we've been updating our gallery of the "Painting with Pixels" 8-bit mural as it's been filled in by attendees. As you see above, the wall is now complete, and it features ... uh ... dragons and stuff! Did you expect any less from the game industry? Head into the gallery below to see the wall filled in day by day, slowly progressing towards full-on madness.%Gallery-117797%
'Painting with Pixels' crowdsources 8-bit art during GDC
GDC isn't just a place to witness developers speaking passionately about their chosen craft, it's also a place to take part in random acts of nerdery, as evidenced by this year's "Painting with Pixels" project. A 20x8-foot wall sitting in the belly of the Moscone Center's North Hall holds 5,760 2x2-inch spots, each spot anxiously awaiting a colored block. The shot above is how the wall looked as of 11:45AM ET today, and we plan to continue to track its transformation in the gallery below -- see how much it changed in just two and a half hours? It's like a video game time machine!%Gallery-117797%
Fable re-imagined as 8-bit adventure game
Lionhead community moderator Matthew Allen recently took some time off of moderating the, uh, community in order to mock up what Fable might have looked like "sometime around 1985." In short, it looks an awful lot like an old Sierra adventure game and that's just fine by us. Unlike the other Fable demake, Fableous (which has a demo now!), Allen's images were created purely for fun, so don't expect the project to turn into a real game. Still, be sure to check out the mock-ups in the video after the break. The 8-bit Fable music alone makes it worthwhile, we promise.
Pixelfari browser lets you surf like it's 1982
Not every app on your Mac has to be useful -- sometimes you just want to have a little retro fun. That's the idea behind Pixelfari, a free "pixely, 8-bitty" version of the Apple Safari web browser. The browser was the brainchild of Neven Mrgan, who brought us The Incident, a game for iOS and Mac that is also an 8-bitter. What Pixelfari lacks in clarity and readability, it makes up for in laughs. It's especially humorous when those obnoxious Netflix pop-under ads show up in their 8-bit splendor... [via Daring Fireball]
Pixel Force Head-2-Head: Every fighting game vs every other fighting game
Once again, retro-inspired game developer Eric Ruth is throwing litigatory caution to the wind for a new Pixel Force project due out this summer. This time, it's Head-2-Head, an 8-bit brawler featuring 30 characters from every fighting game ever. Check out a trailer for the uber-fighter below!
