Another documentary I have seen and enjoyed recently is The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters. It’s a 2007 American film that follows middle school science teacher Steve Wiebe as he tries to take the world high score for the arcade game Donkey Kong from reigning champion and hot sauce kind Billy Mitchell. Even if you don’t have an interest in gaming, you’ll love this battle of the nerds.
It’s a classic tale of good vs. evil, with lots of laughs and plot twists. It leaves you hanging for more, and pondering whether you could be the next world champion in something… If only you put your life into it.
Lego has influenced the paper arts before. When I was 6, my schoolmate Campbell and I made a machine out of lego that ‘corrugated’ card when you cranked the tiny handle. Physical Fiction has come up with a much more sophisticated technique, utilising the the pixel effect that lego lends.
Sheets of paper have been hand-cranked through a Vandercook using a monospace grid, et voila!
Their prints are cute (as you can see, there’s lots of game inspired pieces), and their prices are low – what’s not to love? The next time I need a gift for a recovered-nerd friend I know where I’m heading.
Sushi Cat is my new favourite game. Highly addictive, you must help Sushi Cat nom his way through mountains of sushi and gain in size. It’s super cute, and believe me when I say, wait till you don’t have any important work to finish – your productivity will be destroyed. Here’s a sneak peek of the game play…
Fat cats are happy cats… SUSHI FRENZY! Finished with Sushi cat? don’t dispair, there’s two other episodes in the series; Sushi Cat, The Honeymoon – a tropical treat, and Sushi Cat 2 – a mall adventure.
Of course, while these games are fun and friviolous, Japan is suffering a serious crisis the wake of the earthquake/tsunami. It’s a beautiful country filled with some of the most friendly, wonderful people I have ever met. Help your fellow humans out by donating to the Red Cross here if you haven’t already ♥
Daniel Johnston’s recent outing at the fantastic Laneway festival reminded me of a little something I saw at the end of last year.
It’s hard to believe at first, but in our iPhone obsessed world there is even an app dedicated to the music and art of Johnston. It’s entitled, ‘Hi, How Are You‘; and suprisingly is not just a vanity project, but a well thought out puzzle game that is pretty fun to play!
Hi, How Are You the game features classic Johnston characters like Joe Boxer and Jeremiah the Innocent; the stalk-eyed-froggy-creature who is famously depicted on a mural in Austin, Texas, Johnston’s adopted home. The game focuses on a couple of motifs common to Johnston’s work – fighting the evils of the outside world, and searching for the girl of his dreams through that quagmire.
The game itself was created by two Austin based developers and costs around US$0.99 (or a more splashy NZ$4.50) – it’s an affordable, fun experience for any technologically endowed Daniel Johnston fan.
I like words. Very much. It’s no surprise to anyone that Scrabble is my favourite board game. I like my Scrabble to be adventurous, no “moon”, and certainly no “nice”. Words like “narwhal” and “cocaine” are much better. Depraved language is encouraged.
So naturally I was totally down with Scrabble’s new ad campaign. It’s genius! A mix of illustrative filthiness (the style reminds me so much of Robert Crumb) and obstreperous words…
For a small pixelated guy wearing a pink sweater, you sure changed the course of my life.
I understand your very first appearance was in “Marooned on Mars”, as part of the Invasion of the Vorticons episode. It gave me a whole new lexicon; of guns, lasers, alien planet, pogo sticks and shareware – all perfect for a 6-year-old girl. Playing alongside my brother, we took on yorps and took to gaming with gusto – a hobby that has shaped my life in rather interesting ways.
You need the red key, Keen.
Ah Keen, I am amused to look back and understand the subtleties of your world. I particularly enjoyed your worship of the anonymous cola, and Dopefish? Oh, a big dumb beast that blows bubbles, is always hungry and has a 2 second memory. Stoner much? The Dopefish is also “mentioned to be the ‘second dumbest’ creature in the whole universe, referring to the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. Clever.
Anyway, you know you’re still in our hearts – especially judging by this rad series of wheat pasted Commander Keen posters in Adelaide. Now that’s a sign of influence.
Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
