Tag: art

Viriax is Classic Shmup Fun

I’ve never considered myself to be very good at shmups. In spite of that I have always enjoyed them. From my first experience with the genre in an arcade on an old Galaga machine to bringing that experience home with Gradius and Lifeforce. After the 8-bit era I stopped focusing on the genre; I think I played Gradius 3 but such staples as R-Type were unknown to me, I had no experience of the 32-bit era of shmups at all…

I was away from the genre for so long that when I got back into it people were talking about Ikaruga, a fiendishly (to me) difficult bullet hell shmup that I enjoy playing but am under no illusions as to my abilities with it. Shmups have changed, as everything does, and the genre has left me behind. I’m okay with that, I’ve got a lot of others things to distract me and when I do want to shoot tiny things flying in patterns I still have the classics…

And, Viriax.

Viriax is a free shmup with retro stylings and unique game play by the same guy who made Hydorah (another great free shmup.) The game is a vertical scrolling shooter in which you control a single virus as it infects a host. The quirk comes from the fact that you can only,in all circumstances but one, attack enemies from behind, requiring you to maneuver past them before destroying them.

The game has only six levels but the difficulty ramps up quickly. I’m still stuck on the third. Since the levels are procedurally generated and it takes highscores to unlock later levels  going back is rewarding.

Finally, I want to mention the chiptune music by Gryzor87. I’m a big fan of chiptune music: it always reminds me of happy childhood times and I’m genuinely impressed by the depth and range of emotion chiptune artists can create with their limited “palette.” The Viriax soundtrack is ominous and oppressive, fitting emotions for the material, while retaining a catchiness that keeps them firmly lodged in my head. I can’t get enough of the music for the Heart level of the game.

Anyway, if you are looking for some classic inspired shmup fun Viriax is a smart choice!

It’s Dangerous to Go Alone! Give This to Help Japan!

The above animation can be yours as a program or screensaver for either Macs or Windows if you give absolutely anything to the Americares Foundation which is raising money right now to help those caught in the on-going disaster in Japan.

This is a really nice piece of pixel art and you can proudly show it off on your desktop and do something nice for those in need!

via Ted Martens’ Blog

 

DiMortuiSunt April Book Giveaway! #1

My review for Sacramento Book Review:

I found it troubling and eerie at how much of today I see in the world Jackson Lears relates in his newest book Rebirth of a Nation, which chronicles the history of the United States from the end of Reconstruction to the end of World War I. Lears makes the similarities between then and now a theme throughout the book, pointing them out when they are especially telling. Rebirth of a Nation is not an important book because it paints a vivid picture of early modern American culture; it is a brilliant book because it reminds of how and why we have the federal government we do and the headaches and troubles earlier Americans faced to get us here. Various government institutions and policies (the FDA, for example) which we take for granted today, or worse denigrate, are explained in the context of which they were created, enlightening such issues as modern banking and its regulation, the Federal Reserve, the eight-hour workday, unions, a mixed economy, and more. Lears wraps all of that radical change in an American desire, both individual and societal, for a rebirth into a state akin to grace whether through war, social justice, or labor. Rebirth of a Nation is a must-read for lovers of American history.

If you’re a fan of history or the United States this is a great book that covers a pivotal period in US History as the country shifted from its original rural agrarian base to a urban industrial one.

So, if you’d like a free book. Just make a comment down below and you’ll be entered. One person, chosen at random, will win it next Friday.

Video Games I Just Can’t Quit

I don't have Photoshop, so shut-up

Despite the fact that I have a backlog of video games that is, let me check… At least in the double digits (I haven’t updated it in awhile) I find myself returning to the same stable of games again and again.

Am I the only person who does this? I’m guessing not, going by all the videos, forum threads, and websites dedicated to old video games; how to find them, how to play them, how to beat them, how to exploit  them, and on and on. (I even indulge in this myself. Click on that ‘Let’s Play’ tab at the very top of the page to see.)

I like to think that this is more than blind nostalgia operating. That there are very good objective, quantifiable reasons why I play Megaman 2, Castlevania, or King’s Quest IV time after time and year after year. The problem of course is that games, as works of art, are notoriously difficult to objectively quantify or qualify. The hobby does have widely held corpus of “great” games, but the list is highly mutable and it has been argued contain sgames that are present merely for their age. Furthermore, what qualifies a game as “great?” The criteria available to use is nigh endless and contradictory.

I’m no ludologist (and I don’t have the time, energy, or inclination to pretend to be an amateur one ) so I’m not going to attempt creating a list of the various components of games that qualify them as “greats.” I’m sure if I could isolate said components they would not match up with others’ lists anyway.

Sometimes it is merely the presence of the ineffable that defines greatness, I suppose…

Here’s my list of games I just can’t, and wouldn’t want to, quit (in no order):

  • King’s Quest IV
  • Super Metroid
  • Castlevania
  • X-COM: UFO Defense
  • Megaman 2
  • Contra
  • Space Quest III
  • Super Mario Bros. 3
  • Ape Escape
  • Chrono Trigger
  • Tenchu
  • Final Fantasy

Do you find yourself going back to a set of “knowns” time and time again? Regardless of how many new “unknowns” you might have and want to consume? If so, please share them below in the comments and why you think it is you keep going back to them!

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