Finch Owl Pocket SP (Famicom, 2017)

My friend Finch had me on a Splatoon episode of his podcast late last year and was kind enough to tap me for the cover image! The subject of the design was of course something near and dear to my heart: fake games.

Famicom nerds (or Japanese people) will know that I based this largely off of the art from the Mario Bros. and Golf box art, with an obvious squid kid twist. Drawing in this style is hell of fun to do.

An earlier design before we decided to go with a more Famicom referential look

I'm hesitant to recommend anyone hear my awful voice/awful opinions but you should listen to Finch's podcast! Check it out here.

Planet Harriers (Sega - 2005, PSP)

A port of the 2000 arcade game and spiritual sequel to the Space Harrier series.

Planet Harriers was a long overdue entry in the Space Harrier series, which hadn't seen a new game since 1998's Space Harrier 2 on the Genesis. Originally running on Sega's Hikaru hardware, which was just a bit too beefy to port perfectly to the Dreamcast. To have it on a home console though, I would've taken whatever graphical cuts they had to make. This game is fast and loud and totally awesome with that inimitable "SEGA" feeling. You know what I'm talking about.

It's nice that this unworthy, ungrateful Earth finally got a new Harrier game in Planet Harriers, but that was 17 years ago; hook us up, Sega.

Hey, where's Harrier?

I don't think this is proper space harrier-ing gear, but I'm not the one with the syringe cannon

The graphics are of course still awesome in their way, but I remember thinking just how INCREDIBLE this looked

So hard to keep these in good shape if you don't put them back in the case...

My latest acquisition!...I wish. Really need to get a new PSP eventually now that I've found my copies of Outrun 2 and Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles, though.

Obscure 16-bit character: Grind McRoo (Sega Mega Drive, 1992)

How long has it been since I did a fake game cartridge? How long has it been since I posted regularly on this blog at all? Yikes.

Honestly, I've never considered myself much of a writer and though I do still make content here and there, most of it is consigned to my Twitter. My Twitter is excellent and you should be reading it. Follow my Twitter you cowards.

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A n y w a y, your boy is back again with GRIND McROO: SKATE NO BOUKEN! An excellent artist who goes by Grind3h on Twitter posted an adorable drawing of an old character of hers named Grind McRoo:

credit: twitter.com/grind3h, www.grind3h.com

A rollerblading dragon kangaroo? The first thought that came to mind was "forgotten 16-bit mascot game that never made it out of Japan" so I got down to business.

So we've got a couple issues here, the cartridge is obviously a western Genesis cart instead of a Japanese Mega Drive one. I was also not feeling nearly energetic enough to pixel any mockup screenshots for it (might try one later, though).

Overall though I really like how it turned out, and it was fun and rewarding to do a Japanese style package without the constraints of all the various logos and borders and other things that mess up their western box art!

Check out Allie's work at Grind3h.com and thanks for looking, as always. The theme of my next few posts will be "Weird Racing Games" (real games this time)

A Game By Its Cover 2016

It's almost time for A Game By Its Cover again! This semi-annual game jam pairs indie developers with entries from past and present Famicase Exhibitions to imagine what their fake games might be like if they were...not fake.

It isn't required to get the artists' permission, but if any AGBIC participants happen to know about this blog I am totally cool with my Famicase entries being used as inspiration for your games! Here are my previous entries along with their text blurbs.

Dungeon of Flowers One thousand dungeons! One million monsters! Experience the flower of adventure.

Busy Planet The neighborhood is getting so crowded these days! As the only human on a planet full of new creatures, you have to try hard to fit in. Everyone may have their differences, but we can make friends if we work together!

Elsewhere: Labyrinth of Cemetery You are in an eerie place known only as ELSEWHERE. Can the lost monster girl escape the Great Graveyard or will she become its newest resident?

Steven Universe Famicom Series: Part 1

You might remember I did a little project a few years ago where I made fake games for the Crystal Gems! Since I've been watching Steven Universe again I decided to revisit and expand the project. These are turning out a lot better, I think. There are many more lined up for the future--stay tuned!

Dungeon of Flowers (Famicom)

One Thousand Dungeons! One Million Monsters!

Experience the Flower of Adventure.

Dungeon of Flowers is my entry for this year's Famicase Exhibition, which you can see more of in my previous post (and everywhere else on the blog).

The premise involves a hellish monster cave that becomes a pastel underworld when a mysterious series of earthquakes leads to thousands of sinkholes, peppering the formerly dark dungeon with shafts of sunlight. The resultant explosion of floral growth sends the monsters into an uproar--but some of them might like the change?

In this dungeon crawling game in the tradition of Wizardry, the player takes the role of a knight sent to investigate the unrest in the newly dubbed "Dungeon of Flowers", while making a few friends along the way. With their help, can you bring color to the deepest, darkest levels of the dungeon? What about the thing that created the earthquakes?

When I drew this I just liked the idea of a cartridge label with the hero surrounded on all sides by enemies, but the idea that THESE guys (even the screaming skeleton) are the allies that want to help you spread the flowers around is too good, so I'm going with that. And yes, the skeleton would only communicate with tormented, reverberating screams.

Famicase 2016 - a few of my favorites

It's summer, and you know what that means. No, dummy, I'm talking about Famicase

My Famicase Exhibition is the annual expo for artists and retro game fans to create an original cartridge design for an all new, all fake Famicom game! I missed it last year but am glad to be included this time--more on that next post. Today, I wanted to feature a handful of my favorite designs. This is no exhaustive list, either. Check the Famicase site for plenty of other great cartridges that I couldn't fit here!

ISLAND TIME
BoyGraphics







It's Island Time! A super clean, super linear drawing style sets this apart from a lot of the more illustrative entries and I like the effect. The serene Moai head and bouncy logo give this a fun presentation. The premise of a game where you just relax around the world is a great idea too!

DEFENESTRATION
Elliot Gray 






Lovely logo design here. The splatter effect over the text gives an aged and gritty look while also serving as the broken glass from the window the figure is flying from too. Nice use of off-white for the label and cartridge, which meshes wonderfully with the distressed look of the logo. Reminds me of a vintage movie poster!

 ALONG WITH AI-CHAN
Chulos






Just plain solid illustration and color work overall. Cool use of gradient in the character's hair that I'm totally stealing. The mysterious arm flying from her backpack and the sinister little faces appearing in her hair are a neat contrast with the cheerful style and suggests a dark, weird element to the plot of the game (that, being in Japanese, I unfortunately can't read).
 

KAIJU BODY DUNGEON
Prassio







Awesome premise! A dungeon crawler within the body of a giant monster that comes with the risk of even more monsters inside. I'm way into the color palette and the whimsical detail of using a stepladder to get into the monster's mouth is A+.

STRUNG OUT IN HEAVEN'S HIGH
Daruma Studio






Can we call Spanish designer Daruma Studios "Mr. Famicase"? This must be at least their fifth consecutive entry to the show. The wonderful logo design and monochromatic illustration works really well with the choice of cartridge color. I dig the way the subject is so tiny on the label; it invites closer inspection and really emphasizes the feeling of the cat hero floating alone through space...or is it really a GLIMPSE INTO HIS OWN MIND???

LUCKY FISHING
OLLIE HOFF






I really, really enjoy the cute simplicity of this one. The thin line strokes and limited color palette give it a clean and timeless look that is evocative to me of Japanese style, though the submission is from the UK! This designer knows his shit.



I had a list of about 12 that I wanted to put here, but decided to keep it brief--there are LOTS of great entries this year (it might be the most participation Famicase has gotten to date).

I was particularly surprised to find that the six featured above is a very multinational collection! Only one Japanese entry, where I was expecting the majority to come from Famicase's home country. It really shows the universal appeal of being able to create your dream game (label).

More of the same old shit from me to come, including some photos of my Famicase entry from this year that you've already seen if you follow me on Twitter!

October Horror Games! (Nishimori no Meiro - The Labyrinth at Nishimori)

The Labyrinth at Nishimori (西森の迷路)1990, Nintendo Famicom

A graphic adventure horror game for Famicom. A group of friends become separated during a week-long hiking trip through a great forest called Nishimori.

 

As one of the unlucky teens, you find that you’re more than lost—the forest itself has turned against you! When your friends begin to come back from the darkness of the labyrinth, you’ll wish they had stayed lost.

The style of gameplay can be compared to the classic graphic "Macventure" style games on NES/Famicom like Deja Vu, Shadowgate and Uninvited. Surprise deaths and esoteric puzzles are the order of the day.

Gameplay takes place over five in-game days—wander aimlessly and you’ll run out of time. Can you solve Nishimori’s riddles and escape, or will you join your friends in the forest forever?

Technically I believe the title would be more like "The Maze of Nishimori", but maybe the developers gave it an inaccurate English title; sort of like how the Japanese title for Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) would be closer to "Advance of the Giants".

Stay tuned for more Halloween posts!

Famicase 2014: Busy Planet

The neighborhood is getting so crowded these days! As the only human on a planet full of new creatures, you have to try hard to fit in. Everyone may have their differences, but we can make friends if we work together!

Here's my entry to this year's Famicase Exhibition! Famicase is an annual art show held in Tokyo at METEOR, retro gaming shop and gallery. The objective of the show is to design a label for a fake Famicom game--obviously I had to participate. This is my second year in a row; here's my entry from last year, Labyrinth of Cemetery.

The online gallery of entries from this year isn't up yet, but it should be soon. I'll make another post with my favorites then.

If you're in Tokyo between now and May 31, check out the show and send me photos!
METEOR
〒 180-0003
Musashino-shi, Tokyo Kichijojiminami cho 1-6-7 2F