National Game Registry 1983: Discs of Tron

DISCS OF TRON
original platform
arcade
developer/publisher
Midway
key personnel
Robert Dinnerman

Discs of Tron is an early attempt at an immersive game experience, featuring a walk-in space filled with black lights, a pale glow, and surround sound.  The game itself presents a pseudo-3D playing field with a sinister landscape background.  Tron’s job is to eliminate his enemies, one at a time, in disc-based gladiatorial combat.  Tron aims his shots using an aiming reticule that spans the entire room in a 360 degree rotation.  He can release up to three discs at a time, using them to attack or to defend against enemy attacks.  Tron soon finds himself at a disadvantage as progressive rivals possess more several attacks beyond simple discs.

Discs of Tron was inducted on April 29th, 2009.

Return to the National Game Registry to view more inductees.

70 Aspects Of Batman:4

SIMON BISLEY

Simon Bisley is a British artist who got his start, like so many British comic artists do, in the pages of 2000 A.D., a sci-fi anthology. His realistic/cartoony style, influenced by Frank Frazetta and Bill Sienkiewicz, made him a fan-favorite on the ABC Warriors and Slaine: The Horned God strips that first gained him attention. He first came to the attention of American comic readers with his work on Lobo, in partnership with Scottish writer Alan Grant. The pair also collaborated on the one-shot Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgement On Gotham, which saw The Dark Knight Detective team up with Mega City One’s baddest-assed cop to take down the dangerous duo of The Joker and Judge Death.

Also, he drew this cover about the time Batman met Predator for the second time:

Also of note is this hilariously arbitrary Elseworlds one-shot he did with Grant, Batman/Lobo. A personal favorite of Matt Goode.

Bisley also contributed art to a story written by Neil Gaiman that appeared in the Batman: Black & White miniseries, which also spawned a statue based on his Batman design.

So, Simon Bisley: a great Batman artist, and he drums in a metal band and can kick your ass.

G.

CANON SONIQUE: a mixtape (17)

continuing the online mixtape.
[(1).(2).(3).(4).(5)]
[(6).(7).(8).(9).(10)]
[(11).(12).(13).(14).(15)]
[(16)]

song (17):

Belle And Sebastian – “Lord Anthony”

this song is off of the album “Dear Catastrophe Waitress”, released in 2003.

Belle & Sebastian is a band from Scotland that formed in the mid 90s. they named themselves after a french children’s book called Belle et Sebastien about a boy and his dog. i haven’t read it. it’s probably good? i feel like i should write more, but… i’ve got nothing. give it a listen, though, cuz you will like it. thanks.

here’s part of a live version:

and here’s another song from this album; “i’m a cuckoo”:

scott

related posts:

• CANON SONIQUE: a mixtape (1)
• some GOOD rockabilly
• PRIMER: SCREAM (pt. 1)
• CANON SONIQUE: track list

Beati Paoli “Girl Friday” Live Video

Beati Paoli performing the song “Girl Friday”.

this is from a show at The Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, IA.

it was on 10.04.08 with one for the team, adam robert haug, deep sleep waltzing, and bradley unit.

enjoy

thenoisingmachine

related posts:

• Beati Paoli – A Sense Of Urgency – Live Video
• Urgency on iTunes
• Beati Paoli! show on 08/07/08! plus a new song!

National Game Registry 1983: Mappy

MAPPY
original platform
arcade
developer/publisher
Namco

Mappy is a particularly brassy policemouse who has taken it upon himself to invade the hideout of an cat burglar clan and reclaim their stolen property.  Perhaps expecting such intrusions, the cats have rigged their mansion with several degradable trampolines.  If the cats catch Mappy on solid ground he’s doomed but thankfully the villains are especially clumsy when it comes to doors.  Even when they open doors for themselves the doors swing out and knock them unconscious; thankfully but our hero is a sure-footed fellow and always keeps his balance.  The music is light-hearted and painfully catchy in a time when background music was a relatively new phenomenon in video games.  The Game Gear port offers new level designs and modes.

Mappy was inducted on April 27th, 2009.

Return to the National Game Registry to view more inductees.

Supersonic!

everything about this:

scott

related posts:

• National Game Registry
• video game commercials
• burgertime!
• Things That Really Matter: The Top Ten NES Games (with an emphasis on variety)

National Game Registry 1983: Mario Bros.

MARIO BROS.
original platform
arcade
developer/publisher
Nintendo
key personnel
Shigeru Miyamoto

After playing the hero in Donkey Kong and the villain in Donkey Kong Jr., Nintendo offered Mario the chance to star in his own game.  Bringing his palette-swapped brother Luigi along, Mario descends into the sewers to eliminate various creatures whose crimes are as yet unknown.  Direct contact with these creatures – the turtle-like Shellcreeper, the insectoid Fighter Fly, and the crabby Sidestepper – is fatal so Mario and Luigi do what comes naturally to them; that is, they position themselves beneath the vermin and pound the ground beneath, stunning the creatures and softening them for a swift kick into the murky waters below.  Elements like Luigi, turtle enemies, and the proliferation of pipes, set the stage for the future of the Mario series.

Mario Bros. was inducted on April 22nd, 2009.

Return to the National Game Registry to view more inductees.

National Game Registry 1984: Rescue On Fractalus

RESCUE ON FRACTALUS!
original platforms
Atari 800
Atari 5200
developer/publisher
Lucasfilm Games/Atari

In Rescue on Fractalus,  the player guides a ship across a barren, hostile landscape searching for stranded pilots, which can be spotted by sight or radar.  The atmosphere is strong, relying on sound as much as graphics – when the ship lands near a pilot the player can see little but hears the footsteps and then rather polite knock of the pilot.  The player can admit the pilot but must be prepared for a surprise, as occasionally alien imposters worm their way onto the ship.  When enough pilots are collected, the player leaves the planet and returns to the mothership, advancing to the next level.  The mountainous landscape, sprinkled with enemy forces, is impressive in its own right, created randomly using fractal programming.

Rescue on Fractalus was inducted on April 22nd, 2009.

Return to the National Game Registry to view more inductees.

70 Aspects Of Batman: 3

Like Mike Mignola,

IE8: World’s Best Browser

It’s been over a month since Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 was released on March 19th of this year and after testing it at work for awhile, I have deemed it the best internet browser thus far. And here’s why:

1. Accelerators: I love them. This is ingenious. Accelerators simplify searches by removing the now laborious task of cutting and pasting information. With accelerators, you only need to highlight the text and then choose the accelerator that you want to use, such as Google or Live Maps.
2. Enhanced Navigation: Poorly designed websites are magically aligned with the click of a button to enable better viewing.
3. Grouped Tabbed Browsing (GTB): It seems that lesser internet browsers are still boasting tabbed browsing, or, at the most, movable tabs, but IE 8 has GTB. Tabs that are opened from other pages are automatically color coded and can easily be moved, removed from group, closed from group, etc. One drawback is that the colors appear Microsoft-y to me.

There are other features IE 8 offers to users. You can check them out and the full description of the features listed here on the IE8 website. Most boring post ever…

ninjagarden