Our parents were wrong: They never should have donated our once-beloved Pac-Man games to the Goodwill because Pac-Man and all his buddies have made a comeback. The now-archaic games we played growing up were called 8-bit, and their designs have made their way on to T-shirts, skateboards, and have influenced countless young designers and artists.
From November 29-December 2, artist collectives The Tank and 8bitpeoples collaborate to celebrate all things 8-bit for the four-day Blip Festival in New York. In addition to visual art, the festival also includes musicians and filmmakers inspired by games.
The festival's complete schedule is forthcoming, but every day follows the same agenda: screenings and artists' workshops take place during the day, with concerts happening every night. Attending every session and concert within the four days is cheap as far as NYC festivals go at $35, and tickets to individual events cost just $10, with all ticket purchases including a one-year subscription to Time Out New York and free Singha Beer during evening/nighttime events.
What could be better? Revisiting your Atari glory days and free beer, all under the guise of art!
August isn't only a slow news month in the U.S. Over in Central Europe, they call it "cucumber season"; meaning, that's when news organizations over there run articles on how it's going to be a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. No, not asparagus--the communists considered it to be a bourgeois vegetable and the asparagus fields were torn up after the Second World War.
Except, as Pestiside points out, cucumber season this year happens to have a fair amount of real news, as their coverage of recent Central European events demonstrates. To wit: The Slovaks elected a Prime Minister who bears an uncanny resemblance to the lead singer of Madness. The Romanians, meanwhile, have published a video game featuring battles with the Hungarians in space--presumably because space is free of feral dogs--and, best of all, the current Polish president chose his twin brother to be Prime Minister. That last one sounds a lot like an episode of Young and the Restless, but indeed, they are all true. Sure beats coverage of shark attacks, right?
Airport Insecurity is a game/comment on current security efforts in our airports. Made to run on Java-enabled Nokia phones, the game's all about managing a line of people waiting to go through security (you can choose one of 138 airports for the simulation). Go too slow, and the people in line will start to get twitchy. The chances of sneaking in something "unallowed" (like a cigarette lighter) vary depending on the actual stats of the airport you chose. Say the makers, "To consider the game's implications fully, players are encouraged to play the game while waiting in line at airport security." Doesn't exactly sound as fun as Me and My Katamari, but we bet it's definitely a conversation-starter.
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by laurenuta
