Let's set the mood with a bit of music: through the 80s and early 90s, chip music was the definitive way of delivering catchy beats in your game; because consoles weren't able to play music files like a CD player could, they had dedicated audio chips into which a set of data was fed, which told the console what sounds it should play - like playing the piano from sheet music, essentially. Take that same chip data and port it to another console and you'd have a similar but slightly different sound, like this Megadrive port of Super Mario Bros. It's a fascinating way of creating sound and the distinctive digital beeps are still alive today, in modern music, the retro reboots Mega Man 9 and 10 and the chiptune scene, notably Anamanaguchi, who gave the Scott Pilgrim game its soundtrack. I'm still yet to find anything that tops the very best of the NES era, but that just goes to show what can be achieved with the right talent. So, please check out the video for a few examples of original compositions, or try this one to see how Capcom are still kicking it old school as late as 2010.
With those bleeping in the background (or not) this is the perfect time to introduce Mega Man 2.5, a fangame that throws the 8-bit Blue Bomber into a Paper Mario-esque world of perspective-warping platforms. Speaking as someone who has waded in the rough waters of fangamedom before, it doesn't surprise me in the least to see that progress is going slowly, but while the announcement of this fan-built game is pretty old, a recent trailer definitely seems to comfirm that development is in full swing. The game seems less ambitious in its scope than the original video, which, given the state of progress thus far and the creator's grounding in animation, definitely seems to mark it out as proof of concept rather than a playable game. But with a full co-op mode, calls for more programmers and enormously expansive levels, this has the potential to provide an outing for the series that will rival the upcoming Mega Man Universe in originality. The fangame scene has only been growing stronger, with enormous groundwork laid out by Sonic fans trying to recreate the complex physics of the hedgehog's adventures, and this marks a step beyond mere recreation and delves into the realm of savvy reinvention; definitely one to keep an eye on.
And since we're on the subject of re-imaginings, here's a video of a Frenchman bringing Mario Kart into the real world to a worryingly insane degree.
And that's all until next time.
With those bleeping in the background (or not) this is the perfect time to introduce Mega Man 2.5, a fangame that throws the 8-bit Blue Bomber into a Paper Mario-esque world of perspective-warping platforms. Speaking as someone who has waded in the rough waters of fangamedom before, it doesn't surprise me in the least to see that progress is going slowly, but while the announcement of this fan-built game is pretty old, a recent trailer definitely seems to comfirm that development is in full swing. The game seems less ambitious in its scope than the original video, which, given the state of progress thus far and the creator's grounding in animation, definitely seems to mark it out as proof of concept rather than a playable game. But with a full co-op mode, calls for more programmers and enormously expansive levels, this has the potential to provide an outing for the series that will rival the upcoming Mega Man Universe in originality. The fangame scene has only been growing stronger, with enormous groundwork laid out by Sonic fans trying to recreate the complex physics of the hedgehog's adventures, and this marks a step beyond mere recreation and delves into the realm of savvy reinvention; definitely one to keep an eye on.
And since we're on the subject of re-imaginings, here's a video of a Frenchman bringing Mario Kart into the real world to a worryingly insane degree.
And that's all until next time.
