Great Showdowns of the 8-bit Era
August 15, 2008 5:05 PM Subscribe
Great Art of your favorite 8-bit characters If you are a fan of retro arcade and 8-bit classic video games check out this interpretation of some of the greatest rivalries in old style gaming. How many can you name?
also: burgertime, punchout, (dunno), tetris, dig-dug, donkey kong, (dunno), rampage, moon patrol, frogger.
posted by mathowie at 5:10 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by mathowie at 5:10 PM on August 15, 2008
Looks like the work of Scott Campbell from the 8-bit art show in LA last night.
posted by mathowie at 5:12 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by mathowie at 5:12 PM on August 15, 2008
I got all the ones Matt got. I'm pretty sure I've never played game #3; #7 seems like it could be a lot of different games.
posted by roll truck roll at 5:12 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by roll truck roll at 5:12 PM on August 15, 2008
Looks like this is Scott's site where the image is from.
posted by mathowie at 5:14 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by mathowie at 5:14 PM on August 15, 2008
And according to reddit, it appears my missing ones are Ghosts and Goblins and Double Dragon.
posted by mathowie at 5:15 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by mathowie at 5:15 PM on August 15, 2008
Whoa! Moon Patrol!? How'd that one get in there? I used to love Moon Patrol, but I didn't think anybody else did.
posted by Naberius at 5:24 PM on August 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Naberius at 5:24 PM on August 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
Seems thin for a FPP. Couldn't have fleshed this out?
posted by secret about box at 5:26 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by secret about box at 5:26 PM on August 15, 2008
Oh, I'd definitely buy the ghosts and goblins one. That's the game that got away. (did anyone get past the first level?). It also had one of the best soundtracks of any C64 game (my nostalgia platform of choice) ever.
posted by Popular Ethics at 5:34 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by Popular Ethics at 5:34 PM on August 15, 2008
Here's another Scott Campbell pop-culture name-fest.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:43 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by shakespeherian at 5:43 PM on August 15, 2008
Wow, I haven't had to draw on my C64 knowledge in a while. Ah, the satisfying crunch of the Moon Patrol cartridge going into the slot. I always felt like I was going to break something.
posted by samw at 5:48 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by samw at 5:48 PM on August 15, 2008
Ghosts and goblins and the Double Dragon one are so cute. I love the kick of whatwashisname (Billy?) and Arthur seems like he's welcoming the zombies. The pay is probably worse in the zombie army, but at least you don't have to take initiatives.
posted by ersatz at 5:53 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by ersatz at 5:53 PM on August 15, 2008
These are great. The Dig Dug one particularly.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:17 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 6:17 PM on August 15, 2008
Recognized them all! OK, so how do I get my hands on prints or a poster? :)
posted by Perplexer at 6:36 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by Perplexer at 6:36 PM on August 15, 2008
Having worked in an arcade 1986-1991 (and fed the machines regularly for the previous ~10 years), this was pretty ez.
Taito's Double Dragon from 1987, was pretty seminal in the scheme of things, along with the company's 1986 Renegade. These two games pioneered the horizontal Punch-Jump-Kick action that Konami's TMNT & The Simpsons, and Capcom's Street Fighter & Final Fight series perfected some time later.
Really pisses me off . . . here I fucking major in arcade video game history and the entire industry goes and dies on me. Wasn't expecting that.
posted by yort at 6:38 PM on August 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
Taito's Double Dragon from 1987, was pretty seminal in the scheme of things, along with the company's 1986 Renegade. These two games pioneered the horizontal Punch-Jump-Kick action that Konami's TMNT & The Simpsons, and Capcom's Street Fighter & Final Fight series perfected some time later.
Really pisses me off . . . here I fucking major in arcade video game history and the entire industry goes and dies on me. Wasn't expecting that.
posted by yort at 6:38 PM on August 15, 2008 [1 favorite]
You may also know Scott C's artwork from Psychonauts. He has a webcomic, too.
posted by Sibrax at 7:09 PM on August 15, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by Sibrax at 7:09 PM on August 15, 2008 [2 favorites]
Great art, but strictly speaking, a lot of these are pre-8-bit.
posted by EatTheWeek at 7:29 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by EatTheWeek at 7:29 PM on August 15, 2008
I was hoping this would be able the "I Am 8-Bit" show, and I would be able to see what Jim Mahfood did for it.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:51 PM on August 15, 2008
posted by paisley henosis at 7:51 PM on August 15, 2008
Great stuff! I'd bet a lot of you know of it already, but I'm a big fan of the Sprite Stitch blog.
posted by omarr at 12:31 AM on August 16, 2008
posted by omarr at 12:31 AM on August 16, 2008
burger time, punch out, ghosts & goblins, tetris, dig dug, donkey kong, double dragon, rampage, moon patrol, frogger.
if you did not know all of those you are not the right age and/or were not enough of an arcade hanger-outer-inner. The thing that's lovely about this piece is that Mr Campbell has looked at things that were not showdowns (like a tetris piece vs the existing tetris skew) as showdowns. And also, all showdowns are friendly moments of characters standing next to each other in watercolor.
I love scott c.
posted by damehex at 12:56 AM on August 16, 2008
if you did not know all of those you are not the right age and/or were not enough of an arcade hanger-outer-inner. The thing that's lovely about this piece is that Mr Campbell has looked at things that were not showdowns (like a tetris piece vs the existing tetris skew) as showdowns. And also, all showdowns are friendly moments of characters standing next to each other in watercolor.
I love scott c.
posted by damehex at 12:56 AM on August 16, 2008
Scott also made this lovely comic when Psychonauts became available on Steam.
posted by bjrn at 3:51 AM on August 16, 2008
posted by bjrn at 3:51 AM on August 16, 2008
Rampage is one of the 3 or 4 arcade machines I would love to have in my living room.
The one I want to most though? I think it was called Cyberball. Two screens, two sets of controls at each screen so you'd have two teams of two. Football with robot players. On offense, one player would control the QB and one the RB or WR, and you'd pick plays to run together (the case was angled so you couldn't see the other teams playbook).
Hit an opposing player a few times and they'd start smoking, then burning. Hit them enough times and they'd blow up. There was something immensely satisfying about forcing a fumble by blowing up your opponents running back.
/derail. carry on
posted by JaredSeth at 9:29 AM on August 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
The one I want to most though? I think it was called Cyberball. Two screens, two sets of controls at each screen so you'd have two teams of two. Football with robot players. On offense, one player would control the QB and one the RB or WR, and you'd pick plays to run together (the case was angled so you couldn't see the other teams playbook).
Hit an opposing player a few times and they'd start smoking, then burning. Hit them enough times and they'd blow up. There was something immensely satisfying about forcing a fumble by blowing up your opponents running back.
/derail. carry on
posted by JaredSeth at 9:29 AM on August 16, 2008 [1 favorite]
Jared, Cyberball is available for playing via PC emulation (MAME).
The title, specifically the "Tournament Cyberball" variation, is arguably the most enjoyable 2-4 player arcade game ever made (unless you're a fan of the fighting games, which are equally deep & replayable).
The author was John Salwitz, whom I met at the 1989 AMOA show in Las Vegas, playing the game at the Atari booth with him. Smart guy, his other Atari games were Paperboy, 720, and Ramparts.
Mind-blowingly amazing that a team of 4-5 dedicated salaried engineers could create properties worth MILLIONS in a timespan of months -- illustrating the idea that it's better to make a million sales at a quarter each than a thousand sales at $250 each.
One wonders if we will see those times again.
posted by yort at 1:17 PM on August 16, 2008 [3 favorites]
The title, specifically the "Tournament Cyberball" variation, is arguably the most enjoyable 2-4 player arcade game ever made (unless you're a fan of the fighting games, which are equally deep & replayable).
The author was John Salwitz, whom I met at the 1989 AMOA show in Las Vegas, playing the game at the Atari booth with him. Smart guy, his other Atari games were Paperboy, 720, and Ramparts.
Mind-blowingly amazing that a team of 4-5 dedicated salaried engineers could create properties worth MILLIONS in a timespan of months -- illustrating the idea that it's better to make a million sales at a quarter each than a thousand sales at $250 each.
One wonders if we will see those times again.
posted by yort at 1:17 PM on August 16, 2008 [3 favorites]
The same guy created Paperboy and Ramparts? Hear, hear!
posted by ersatz at 3:51 PM on August 16, 2008
posted by ersatz at 3:51 PM on August 16, 2008
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posted by mathowie at 5:07 PM on August 15, 2008