8-bit
Latest
'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).
PSA uses 8-bit sprites to teach gamers about safe sex
The Leicestershire Teenage Pregnancy Partnership recently published a pixelated PSA with an important message for sexually active gamers: You have to use your speed burst after hitting the Condom block on World 1-3 in order to catch it before it falls in the bottomless pit. Or something.
8-bit DJ Hero remake available now; Ray Parker, Jr. never sounded so good (video)
How would you describe Eric Ruth's 8-bit Pixel Force: DJ Hero game? A clever remake? An artifact from a fictional past? Whatever it is, we're pretty bummed that it's taken this long for mankind to get to the point where we can mix chiptune versions of songs by Madonna, Michael Jackson, INXS, and a ton more -- all the while scoring points and watching a little pixelated guy rock the wheels of steel. What are you waiting for? Fire up that PC, hit the source link to download your copy, and see all productivity cease -- just like it has here at Engadget HQ. Video after the break.
CHIP-8 emulation comes to Half-Life 2, you can finally retire your Telmac 1800 (video)
We've seen quite a few programming projects lately, from CPUs built in the world of Minecraft to a full-blown Game Boy emulator in JavaScript. And now? Wiremod forum member Techni has taken the CHIP-8 virtual machine and got it up 'n running in the Garry's Mod sandbox for the Source game engine. Sure, CHIP-8 has been around since the 70s, and since it's small and easy to program it has a following that persists to this day -- but that said, we never expected to see it running Space Invaders from inside a game of Half-Life 2, in all its 8-bit glory. That's what we call progress! Or at least a satisfying hack. See it in action for yourself after the break. [Thanks, Jason]
'Reformat the Planet' chiptune doc on DVD this month, Laserdisc version slated for 2012
It's no secret that we love chiptunes around here, so we'll just go ahead and say that we're super stoked about Reformat the Planet, an in-depth look at one of the few groups of people we can unequivocally say are geekier than we are: those who make music with Game Boys, NES's, and C64's. 2 Player Productions has combined footage from the insane Blip Festival with up-close-and-personals with some of our favorite retro-gaming musicians -- Nullsleep, Glomag, Tugboat and Bubblyfish -- for a thorough portrait of the rapidly-growing scene. A little art, a little science, a lot of awesome. The 2-disc set is out on August 24th, but for now, you can check the trailer (which includes an introduction to square-wave moshing) after the jump.
Eric Ruth's latest NES de-make: DJ Hero
Retro gaming enthusiast and part-time mad genius Eric Ruth recently pulled the dust cover off of his latest 8-bit de-make of a current-gen title. This time, it's FreeStyleGames' vinyl-scratching sim DJ Hero. "But how," you may ask, "how does he get DJ Hero, a game with its own, highly complex peripheral, to work using the eight-buttoned NES controller?" In response, we simply laugh. You obviously don't know how Eric Ruth rolls. Check out a video demo of the game posted after the jump, and join us in furiously wondering what an 8-bit Peter Gabriel/Kenny Loggins mash-up sounds like.
NYC play 'The Dudleys' features chiptune music and 8-bit art
New York City playwright Leegrid Stevens, working with the Theater for New City and manager Danielle Karliner, will debut a new play titled "The Dudleys!" this August at the Joyce and Seward Johnson Theater. "What in the world does this have to do with games?" you may be asking your computer. First and foremost, it's straight up weird that you're speaking to a computer. More importantly, though, "The Dudleys" is a play about the thoughts and memories of a young man, conveyed through "a malfunctioning 8-bit video game." You see the connection now? Apparently, the play will feature chiptune music created on Ataris, GameBoys, and Commodore 64s, and 8-bit art will back up the actors. More specifically, the play aims to juxtapose "the two dimensional side-scrolling world of fun and happy endings up against the confusion and aimlessness of real life." Well then! If you're interested in snagging tickets, they're available online for $15.
Two-bit organ transformed into fantastic 8-bit 'chipophone'
Sweden's own Linus Åkesson, and now official Hero of Joystiq™, took a friend's old electronic organ, worked some dark hacking magicks on it and turned it into an 8-bit chiptunes instrument. We'll let Åkesson show off his "Chipophone" for you after the break, in the best video you'll see all week.
Visualized: Douglas Coupland's pixel orca
Douglas Coupland (yes, that Douglas Coupland) created this pixel sculpture which lives outside of the Vancouver convention center. He should meet these guys.
Zoomable 8-bit city maps make navigation seem so simple
Brett Camper, we salute you. We were downright enamored with your 8-bit version of an NYC city map back in March, but now that you've had time to crank out a handful of others (including Detroit, Berlin, Amsterdam, Austin and Seattle), we feel it's time to give credit where credit is obviously due. We've seen a fair amount of 8-bit gear in our day, but a zoomable map? Crème de la Crème. Hit the source link if you're up for wasting a few hours.
8-bit Gary and real Gary compete for our affection
Kiel Johnson and Klai Brown built this 8-bit costume for a Toshiba ad. Made of bits of high density foam glued together, the wearable, pixelated version of Gary looks surprisingly like the actual Gary, though possibly a bit handsomer (in our opinion). Hit up the source for a lot more photos of the process of Gary's construction. Also hit up the coverage link for videos of the Garys in action.
Shawn Smith brings 8-bit art into three dimensions, one tiny block of wood at a time
Austin, Texas-based artist Shawn Smith creates sculptures of things like vultures, sharks and hats on fire, and they're seriously awesome, 8-bit style extravaganzas. The pieces are largely created out of small blocks of wood, and then painted. Hit the source (the artist's website) to see many, many examples of his stunning and beautiful work.
We really wish 8-bit StarCraft was a thing we could play
StarCraft 2 may be one of the most anticipated titles of this year, but after checking out this 8-bit recreation of the game that started it all, we're inclined to cancel our pre-order and spend the rest of our days praying for a playable version. It takes us back to our elementary school days, when we thought getting to play Oregon Trail in school was about the best thing ever. Can you imagine if we had this instead? Zerg rushing would be at, like, a whole 'nother level. But we digress. Instead of pining for what could've been, you should head past the break to watch the game in action and hope for what could be: an actual playable release of this charming 8-bit recreation. What else could you possibly want in life?
Students program Human Tetris into 8-bit microcontroller, give away schematics for free (video)
Sure, Project Natal is the hotness and a little bird tells us PlayStation Move is pretty bodacious, but you don't have to buy a fancy game console to sooth your motion-tracking blues. When students at Cornell University wanted to play Human Tetris (and ace a final project to boot), they taught a 20Mhz, 8-bit microcontroller how to follow their moves. Combined with an NTSC camera, the resulting system can display a 39 x 60 pixel space at 24 frames per second, apparently enough to slot your body into some grooves -- and as you'll see in videos after the break, it plays a mean game of Breakout, too. Full codebase and plans to build your own at the source link. Eat your heart out, geeks.
8-bit arcade guitar sounds (and looks) like a little piece of nerd heaven
The hand built, 8-bit "arcade guitar" that you see above is the result of a DIY senior project, and it's a pretty cool accomplishment. There's not a ton of detail about how it was constructed, but we know that it's got an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) for logic and function, strings and a joystick for adjusting the pitch, and it also boasts selectable waves and save banks. Most importantly, however, the final product sounds really, really good -- and we'd advise you to check the video below.
The fighting game you really care about: Capcom vs. Eric Ruth Games
We know some of you were unfathomably thrilled by the announcement of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but the announcement was somewhat sullied for us by a secret, unfulfilled wish we'd kept tucked away in the deepest recesses of our heart. What if, instead of squaring off against a roster of superheroes from Marvel Comics, the Capcom combatants were forced to fight the original characters designed by Pixel Force Left 4 Dead and Mega Man 9 HD Remix creator Eric Ruth? Fine, we didn't actually have that thought -- but after looking at the first bit of gameplay footage from Capcom vs. Eric Ruth Games (posted after the jump), we really wish we had. Sure, we might not know half of the game's cast of characters, but it looks like good old-fashioned 2D fighting fun. Also, it features an announcer who says, "Ladies and gentlemen, start your fist engines," and that's the greatest thing we've ever heard.
8-bit hanger is a gravity-defying, geek-gratifying implement of mass distraction
What's this you say, your clothes would be better off if they weren't strewn all over the floor, but you just don't know how to maintain them airborne sans magical abilities? Fear not, we've finally found a hanger worthy of a true gadget geek in the retro styled 8-bit pointer you see above. There's not an overwhelming amount of complexity to it -- hell, even the one screw that holds the finger to the wall is permanently attached -- but nothing communicates your tech credentials quite like a pixelated mouse cursor from yesteryear. Available now for $19.99 a piece plus shipping.
The Engadget Show: Inside chiptunes and 8-bit visuals
Greetings humans! If you've seen The Engadget Show, then you've been privy to some pretty incredible performances by a group of musicians and artists who eschew familiar instruments in exchange for hacked and modded handheld gaming devices. We grabbed our cameras and got a brief look at the history of the chiptunes movement, the difference between Game Boy music and music from Game Boys, and most importantly, how these artists and visualists make it all happen. Kick back and take a look at the segment (featuring the likes of Glomag, Paris, and Outpt) -- you'll be glad you did! Special guests: Glomag, Paris, and Outpt Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Michael Slavens Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Download the Show: The Engadget Show Segment - 005 (HD) / The Engadget Show Segment - 005 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
Apple II Digital Music Synthesizer available now for 8-bit die-hards
The last time we had occasion to feature 8 Bit Weapon in this space, our man Seth had hacked his Nintendo Power Pad into a music controller. Now the team is back with something a little less strenuous -- but no less musical -- for all of you budding chiptune artists out there. The Digital Music Synthesizer for Apple II is a wavetable synthesizer designed specifically for live performance. Not only does this bad boy come with ten voices (including bass, trumpet, square wave, sawtooth wave, and sine wave), but sequences can be recorded for a later time. But wait, there's more -- there is no monitor required. If you've ever had to lug an Apple II monitor to a dank performance space on a weeknight (and who hasn't?), you understand what a sweet setup this is. Supports your Apple IIe, IIc, IIc+, or IIgs computer with 80-column capability and at least one 5.25" floppy disk drive. Get yours now for $19.95 -- but not before checking out the demo after the break.
