Nightmare Bruce x My Famicase Exhibition 2014 = 'Busy Planet'

My only issue with the "My Famicase Exhibition" that's been held at the Tokyo-based retro-game shop Meteor for the last decade or so: no one ever seems to turn any of the awesome fake Famicom cart labels (which serve as the event's focus) and ideas into actual, playable products.

Will blogger Nightmare Bruce buck that trend and find a way to transform his entry in this year's event, Busy Planet, into an honest-to-goodness game? I doubt it, but I'll be the first to celebrate if he does.

Although the cart label the "Ribbon Black" proprietor concocted is chiefly responsible for my interest in Busy Planet becoming a full-fledged title, I also consider its premise to be pretty appealing:



"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!"

Admittedly, said premise is more than a tad nonsensical, but that's what's so perfect about it in my mind. I mean, how many Famicom/NES titles didn't feature wackadoodle backstories?

For more information about Busy Planet, check out this recent "Ribbon Black" blog post, and go here (or here) to see more this year's "My Famicase Exhibition" entries.

Elsewhere, Mayle, Womb Odyssey and other excellent 'My Famicase Exhibition 2013' entries

Calling all fans of faux cartridge labels: this year's "My Famicase Exhibition" entries are now available for public consumption at famicase.com.

Surprisingly, a good number of the fake labels that were compiled for this year's event--which annually collects a mountain of made-up Famicom cartridge art and then displays them on line and in Tokyo's Meteor shop--were concocted by Western artists. Among my favorites:

Apple Pickin's--This John-Charles Holmes charming creation tasks players with picking apples "on a warm and breezy May afternoon. But only the ripest apples will do!"



Elsewhere: Labyrinth of Cemetery--Jeremy Hobbs' entry plops players into the shoes of a "lost monster girl" who has to escape the Great Graveyard or "become its newest resident." (For more information on this imaginary game, head over to Hobbs' great blog, Ribbon Black.)



Mayle--Does the idea of delivering mail to a bunch of islanders sound fun to you? If so, you'd probably enjoy playing artist Paul Veer's summery Mayle. (I know I would--even if it sounds a tad tedious.)



Witch Hunt--Only folks with hearts of stone--or a certifiable aversion to witches--could fail to be captivated by Elena You's deliciously dark label art (below). Also sure to appeal to most right-in-the-head gamers: this title's premise, which has players "navigate complex mazes and avoid capture" while attempting to escape a treasure-filled pirate's lair.



Womb Odyssey--Marc Rios' entry certainly wins the "Most Intriguing Title" award of this year's "My Famicase Exhibition." Its description is similarly intriguing, as it sends players on a "microscopic excursion into the sacred chambers of life."



All sorts of additionally wonderful concoctions can be found at famicase.com/13/, of course, so I'd highly recommend checking out the site at your earliest convenience.

See also: previous 'My Famicase Exhibition' posts

Who wouldn't want to play a Famicom game called Pooh Goes for a Swim?

Especially when its cart art is as adorable as this:

Sadly, Pooh Goes for a Swim isn't a real Famicom game. Rather, it was conjured up for this year's My Famicase Exhibition, which annually collects a mountain of fake Famicom cartridge art and then displays them on line and in Tokyo's Meteor shop.

Another My Famicase Exhibition game that I'd love to play: Super Mosaic Maker. According to its creator's description, this faux Famicom puzzler puts players in the shoes of a porn maker. Specifically, it gives them the chance to pixelize the naughty bits of an adult film during post-production.

I'm also pretty fond of the following My Famicase Exhibition entrant, although I have to confess I have no idea as to what its title is or what the point of it is. In my mind, though, it involves running and hiding from a pompadour'd bully a la Human Entertainment's spooky Clock Tower series.

To see the rest of the carts that are included in My Famicase Exhibition 2012, check out famicase.com.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

My Famicase Exhibition 2011 favorites

The standout of last year's "My Famicase Exhibition," in my humble opinion, was the humorously titled (and labeled) Burp'n'Shoot--which offered gamers a "fun lazy redneck experience" that involved "sitting on the backyard couch, drinking Budweiser and shooting at empty cans, watermelons and a broken TV."

The standout of this year's event, which shines a light on faux Famicom cartridge covers: Meteor Night, created by artist Ashley Davis and the guys behind tinycartridge.com.



There's more to Meteor Night than a snazzy label; it also has a snazzy premise:

"Designed to be played with friends or a date, Meteor Night shows a peaceful sky full of 8-bit stars. Sometimes a meteor will fly across the sky. Turn down the lights, bring a blanket and snacks, and enjoy Meteor Night together."

Sounds a bit like something Shigeru Miyamoto would conjure up, doesn't it?



Meteor Night isn't the only "My Famicase Exhibition 2011" entrant that caught my attention. I'm also quite smitten with illustrator Adam Ferrando's Bubble Gal Witch USA (above), which is a "re-import of NES title Death Warlock, the US localization of Famicom's Bubble Gal Witch. Has new music, sprite art and story in the vein of 'dark fantasy', also easier difficulty!"

And then there's the following fake Famicom cart, Dokkii to Heart Garden, which seemingly brings together two of my favorite subjects: Gardening and zombies.



Go here to read about last year's event, and go here to see all 63 of this year's entrants.

(Via gamesetwatch.com and tinycartridge.com)

I think Burp'n'Shoot would have been a big hit in the U.S.

This is one of those days I look forward to all year: The day the latest "My Famicase Exhibition" creations are displayed on the Interwebs (courtesy of the folks at Meteor, a Tokyo-based "game culture shop").

Never heard of the Famicase exhibition? No worries. Basically, it's a collection of imaginary Famicom cartridge covers created by Japanese artists and designers.

One of my favorites is Burp'n'Shoot, which Boing Boing's Brandon Boyer says is a "fun lazy redneck experience" that involves "sitting on the backyard couch, drinking Budweiser and shooting at empty cans, watermelons and a broken TV" while avoiding the errant basket- and baseballs of the neighbor kids.

Unfortunately, unlike Boyer and the chaps at tinycartridge.com, I don't understand a lick of Japanese, so you'll have to go here or here to read translated descriptions of some of the exhibition's other entries.