Thanks to Japanese fashion label THUNDERBOX, you’ll never again have to go downtown without a stylish, understated way of expressing your love for Technōs’ flagship Kunio-kun series on your person. They’re ideal for wearing to any back-alley brawl, dodgeball game or street challenge.
The two individual enamel pins feature the titular high schooler hero Kunio and his rival Riki (perhaps better known as Alex and Ryan of River City Ransom fame to US players), lovingly capturing the iconic sprite art style of the series’s third console instalment that has thoroughly stood the test of time, even appearing in games released this year.
Details on when the pins will make their way to THUNDERBOX’s online store are still pending – keep an eye on their Twitter and Instagram pages for news and announcements – but in the meantime, here are a few other related items from the apparel brand’s new “CASE SHOTSHOT STAGE 4” summer collection (a great write-up of the full gaming-inspired parts of the line-up can be found over on Attract Mode).
The season finale of documentary series toco toco focuses on the life and work of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, game designer and former head of both Q-Entertainment, developers of Lumines and Child of Eden, as well as Sega’s United Game Artists division, the team responsible for iconic titles such as Space Channel 5 and Rez – the latter of which was re-released by Mizuguchi’s new company, Enhance Games, as Rez: Infinite in 2016 with fully featured VR functionality.
In the video, Mizuguchi is quick to set out his forward-thinking visions for the future of technology, games and even society. As someone fascinated with exploring the concepts of synaesthesia and stimulation of the senses in his work, Mizuguchi discusses how the introduction of mass market Virtual Reality presented him with a unique opportunity to change the way players can experience Rez to further immerse them and provoke an emotional response. He also explains the background of the special synaesthesia suit, a one-off body suit designed to expand on Rez‘s multi-sensory concepts.
Mizuguchi is also someone who derives pleasure from the elements of our day-to-day lives that remain disconnected from our fast-moving, online society. He introduces Restaurant Bohemian, an eatery with no internet presence and a location spread only through word of mouth.
For anyone who has played or enjoyed Rez, this video is essential viewing – for a glimpse of the thoughts and emotions behind its surrealist design, as well as the hopes and aspirations of its creator for where manipulating the senses will take gaming in the future.
It should be noted that those who have yet to experience Rez: Infinite‘s ‘Area X’ may wish to save watching this until after they have done so – the new area introduced in the remake, which is featured prominently throughout the video, is something that I strongly believe is best experienced with no prior knowledge of its structure or ideas. Witness it for yourself and come back to this video later to learn about what went into its creation.
This amazing shot was taken by ethnographer and photographer Laura de Reynal. In her photographs, de Reynal has worked to capture the impact of projects run by companies that aim to introduce the internet and other technology into communities where it has not yet become widespread. The above photo was taken as part of a year-long project in Kenya, following 150 new smartphone users in the country.
This striking picture, also by de Reynal, was taken in a slum in Pune, India on a field research trip in 2015. I highly recommend browsing some more of de Reynal’s insightful work on her Flickr page and website.
This arcade machine photographed by Tadashi Hijiya is also a little worse for wear. Though it appears to have been thrown out, at we can take satisfaction in knowing that its final resting place – under the spring blossoms and a rich blue sky – is a stunning one, at the very least.
Jennie Robinson Faber came across what is either a very creative hot take on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, or evidence that the titular princess of Hyrule herself has been up to no good. I guess you could also assume it’s just be where someone called Zelda tagged her name on some trash, but where’s the fun in that?
This forgotten 3DS AR card, spotted on a railway platform by Chihiro Tanaka, is a sorry sight. That huge yellow arrow pointing right at it just beckons you to whip out your 3DS and experience another dimension.
Every video game is an interactive experience, but when does an interactive experience become a game? Video games by their very design require input from an external source, most commonly a keyboard, mouse, controller or joystick. If a game played itself it would essentially be a video. However, even many videos now offer some level of interactivity. As we move towards simplified interfaces and more accessible content, the lines start to blur on what can be considered a video game.
Laserdisc systems were one of the first mainstream media sources to bring a simple interactive experience into the gaming sphere. In 1983, Dragon’s Lair hit arcades and served as one of the first popular laserdisc games – titles featuring arcade cabinets that operated around a fitted laserdisc player – in the west, paving the way for the likes of Space Ace and Time Gal which have since gone on to become cult classics. These games make use of prerecorded animation instead of the standard character and background sprites, whilst only requiring very basic input from the player to progress the story.
Laserdisc players used simple directional and button inputs, similar to what you would find on the average television remote control. Arcade set-ups simply transferred these inputs to a standard arcade joystick and buttons, creating an experience that the average gamer would easily identify with. This minimal interactivity along with fixed story progression and impressive visuals offered an appealing game experience worthy of the arcade and eventually home use. The popularity of laserdisc games dropped significantly in the late 80’s, but the idea of interactive movies continued on through future disc formats, such as DVD and Blu-Ray, in a more limited capacity.
Moving into the late 90’s, Bandai’s electronic pet-simulation Tamagotchi had become one of the biggest toy fads of the decade. It too made use of simple button commands to create an accessible and intuitive interactive experience, not dissimilar to that offered by the laserdisc games of the previous decade. Although Tamagotchi is considered a toy, the presence of a dot matrix LCD screen used to display pixel-art characters is very comparable to a traditional video game. In this writer’s opinion, this marks where the lines of what can be considered a “game” really start to blur.
Kyoto-based EDITMODE have given us a glimpse of their fresh new line-up of officially licensed Splatoon-themed apparel, to coincide with the release of Splatoon 2next month.
First up is a selection of three graphic tees that have been featured frequently in the game’s promotional material since day one. Each design has parts printed using special light-reflecting ink. The three colour variations are also available in kids’ sizes and come packaged with a randomly selected badge featuring artwork of the abilities that come attached to the in-game clothing.
The line is fronted by a pair of original t-shirt designs produced by illustrators Yuji Kaida (best known for his work on posters for the Godzilla franchise) and Toshikazu Aoki. Additional merchandise such as tote bags and key-rings will be available to a limited number of people who earn coupons by challenging daily playable BoxBoy levels distributed within the official Uniqlo app from the 20th of August.
A selection of ‘badges’ featuring characters and artwork from the BoxBoy series are also set to be introduced to Uniqlo’s ‘UTme!’ t-shirt creator app, which allows customers to design t-shirts on their mobile device and both buy and sell wearable versions of their ideas.
Hit the jump to see the full line of pre-designed shirts available in the line, or browse the selection on the UTme! website, where those based in Japan can find out how to buy them.
‘Game Legend‘, a fair at which various dōjin groups get together to exhibit and sell their gaming-themed creations, took place earlier in May. Kazzycom was there to capture the scene and shared with us a nice shot of some 8-bit Shugei from birosama1217.
On the topic of handmade items, bio_miracle showed off a cute cross-stitch Game Boy case, shaped like a Game Boy itself. A Game Boy in a Game Boy! Check out another shot here.
A very classy arcade cab shot from miki800. You might have spotted this one when we shared it over on our new Tumblr page not too long ago.
The Dojo served as a chronicle of every component that made up what was, at the time, arguably one of Nintendo’s most content-rich games to date. Characters, locales, items, mechanics and even contributing musicians were detailed, with each entry in the website’s blog-like archives penned by Sakurai himself – quite the undertaking, when you consider the scale of the game’s production. As such, explanations for even the simplest of features have a down-to-earth feel, offering a hint of not only the ambition behind the project, but personal excitement on Sakurai’s part as his ideas came into fruition.
Toco Toco‘s latest Japanese cultural showcase focuses on Kazutoshi Iida, the creative mind behind Aquanaut’s Holiday, Tail of the Sun and Doshin the Giant – minimalistic, pensive experiences that blend the traditional hallmarks of game design with distinctly human elements aimed at encouraging thought and reflection.
The soft-spoken Iida guides us around a number of his favourite Kyoto locales, starting with the Rissei Cinema Project, a former elementary school building dating back almost one hundred years that has since been converted into an arts centre that plays host to a variety of events, including screenings of documentaries and world movies. Next is the Kyoto Art Center, also a former elementary school, which serves as a portal for the area’s cultural offerings with regular performances and exhibitions.
In his research lab at Ritusmeikan University, Iida discusses his work in the games industry, offering a thoughtful commentary on the role of entertainment in society and the way it defines our personalities, as well as how it influenced him personally in designing the contemplative experiences his works seek to convey.
We introduced this year’s My Famicase Exhibition, an art show consisting entirely of creative designs for make-believe Famicom games, at the end of last month.
Hosts METEOR have now uploaded their full online gallery of every cartridge on display. After the break you can browse a selection of our favourite designs from this year’s line-up, as well as find out where you can follow some of the talented creators who make the show happen.
