Intelligent Artifice » Retro

De-makes

Jurie — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 04:50:42 +0000

Have I ever mentioned de-makes before? I don’t think so. In any case, here is a blog post with info on lots of fun de-makes, such as Bioshock for GameBoy or Metal Gear Solid 4 for NES.

(Via Wolfgang.)

Chrono Trigger is coming to the Nintendo DS

Jurie — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:52:09 +0000

Chrono Trigger is coming to the Nintendo DS! Winter 2008. Chrono Trigger is in my top 5 of favorite games of all time. I can’t wait to buy it again!

That reminds me that I better play Final Fantasy III (VI in Japan), which I went to great lengths to get for the PS1 in 2005, before it comes out on the DS as well…

Shredz64, a Guitar Hero clone for the Commodore 64

Jurie — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:17:57 +0000

There is a part 2. Dig those chip tunes!

An official (?) Super Mario World level that plays itself

Jurie — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:46:56 +0000

Here is a level from Super Mario World that you can finish by simply not touching the controller. Setting this up must have been an immense effort – it’s breathtaking.

The Only Mario Level That Plays Itself – Watch more free videos

(Via Boing Boing.)

Simon Carless on Matthew Smith and Jet Set Willy

Jurie — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:15:59 +0000

Simon Carless has written a great article about Matthew Smith, mysterious creator of two landmark games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum: Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. Mr. Carless (who occasionally reads this blog – hi!) also writes about how Smith disappeared from the face of the earth (apparently he joined a commune in the Netherlands), then came back. But he never made another game… I still remember reading the ads for Attack of the Mutant Zombie Flesh-Eating Chickens from Mars (Starring Zappo the Dog).

Additionally, I learned about the cool mods for the Jet Set Willy games that have been made over the years. ‘The Hobbit’ as a Manic Miner mod? ‘Lord of the Rings’ set inside Jet Set Willy? I love it. Formal constraints can be so much fun.

Polybius

Jurie — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:31:39 +0000

I had never heard of Polybius before – it sounds a bit like a real-life Lucky Wander Boy:

[A]n unheard-of new arcade game appeared in several suburbs of Portland, Oregon in 1981, something of a rarity at the time. The game, Polybius, proved to be incredibly popular, to the point of addiction, and lines formed around the machines, quickly followed by clusters of visits from men in black. Rather than the usual marketing data collected by company visitors to arcade machines, they collected some unknown data, allegedly testing responses to the psychoactive machines.

Video games hidden in the grooves of LPs

Jurie — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:57:59 +0000

BoingBoing has an interesting post about the time when software was encoded as audio and video games were hidden in the grooves of LPs.

If nobody beats me to it I will blog about the 80s Dutch radio show that transmitted software, including games for the ZX Spectrum, over the airwaves.

The most frustrating Super Mario mod ever

Jurie — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:19:25 +0000

The Most Frustrating Super Mario Mod Ever

This is screamingly funny (give it a minute). (Via Kottke.)

Update: Apparently, it is even funnier, if profane, with sound.

Interview with Andreas Varga

Jurie — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:18:59 +0000

NDSwelt, an ‘inofficial’ online magazine (in German) about the Nintendo DS has an
interview (in German) with Andreas ‘Mrsid’ Varga about homebrew programming for the Nintendo DS in general, and his port of Great Giana Sisters in particular (watch a video here).

Giana Sisters is a famous game in the history of game development in Germany, not least because of Nintendo’s legal pressure. Armin Gessert, the programmer, went on to found Spellbound Entertainment and develop Desperados. Manfred Trenz, the graphic artist, later created the Katakis and Turrican series, doing not only the graphics but also the coding. He also created the mythical Rendering Ranger, a game for which I’m in the credits at Mobygames but which I’ve never seen in its finished state. It was only released in Japan as far as I know.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Andreas at Rockstar Vienna. If he ports Giana Sisters and Descent to the DS in his spare time, you can imagine the kind of amazing things he does at work. In an ironic twist of fate, he is an Austrian working in Amsterdam (for Guerrilla Games on Killzone 2), while I am a Dutchman working in Vienna. It is only a matter of time before his Dutch is as good as my Austrian.

A short live-action movie about a hamster video game

Jurie — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:20:45 +0000

YouTube – Live Action Hamster Video Game

Awesome live-action Monty Mole video :D (Thanks, Laurens!)