Tag: space invaders

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PACAPONG’s chaotic arcade game mash-up reflects our remix culture

Part of me wishes that Dick Poelen had gone further. His Mini Ludum Dare #68 game jam entry PACAPONG comprises four classic arcade games: Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Pong, and Donkey Kong. But why stop there? The disruptive child in me begs for more and more to be added. I want this mash-up to be taken to the extreme, until the processor can’t keep up, layer-upon-layer of retro gaming until a gorilla’s knee is no more discernible than a Power Pellet. of the same thinking that fuels the tumultuous side of remixing  Perhaps that’s a symptom of my upbringing amid the enthusiastic…
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An unusual Grand Rapids coffeeshop gets a videogame tribute

There’s a building that has sat at the west end of Grand Rapids, Michigan for over a century. It used to be a bank but has since been transformed into a coffee shop called The Bitter End. It sells loose leaf teas, Ghirardelli mochas, and something called a “bulletproof Tibetan coffee.” Its menu is trying to be chic as is the case with most modern coffee shops. But the shell of the building that houses all of these trade goods hasn’t lost its history. During the renovation, the owners dressed up those old bricks to fit the Neoclassical styling they…
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Space Invaders, Missile Command, and other classics painted in fresco

Just in time for Easter, these regal fresco paintings inspired by the videogames of yore are now showing at Kim Foster Gallery on 529 W 20th Street in New York. The show, called Genesis, is the artistic outpouring of Dan Hernandez, a man whose love for classic arcade games is only equaled by his love for Italian Renaissance murals, apparently.  Much of his art looks like something out of a Medieval cathedral or manuscript, but modernized with bloody, game-y pop art. On one canvas, you see a saint with nimbus throwing fireballs Mario-style, while right below him there are holy…