The walls of our home won't be complete until one of them sports a pixelated portrait of Ellen Ripley from Konami's Aliens arcade game

I've had a bit of a "thing" for the Alien and Aliens films since I watched them for the first time as a teenager.

You'd think that would mean I've long had a similar thing for games inspired by those flicks, but it doesn't.

There have been a few exceptions, of course. Sega's Alien Syndrome and Alien Storm are two examples. Xenophobe is another.

None of the above compete with Konami's Aliens quarter-muncher from 1990, however. OK, so it takes some liberties with the source material. It's such a blast to play, though, that I don't have any problems overlooking those "creative differences."

It's also gorgeous, of course, with wonderfully detailed backdrops and sprites that evoke the 1986 movie that spawned it.

Apparently Atlanta-based artist Ashley Anderson agrees with that last tidbit. After all, he recently referenced the above-mentioned Aliens arcade game in the acrylic painting that can be seen below.

Before you go and think this is just some paint-by-numbers copycat, consider what Anderson said about it on Instagram:

"I limited my palette this time to traditional portrait colors, prussian blue (to mix with umber to make chromatic blacks), titanium white (for opacity), and zinc white (for warmth and translucence)."

As much as I like this piece, I like this next one, which Anderson calls "Ellen (Withering Heights)," even more.

For the curious: Anderson made "Ellen (Withering Heights)" using color pencil on toned paper.

I'm also quite fond of the similar "Sigourney Weaver," below, from 2010:

Anderson produced it using graphite on paper.

As for what prompted him to go down this particular path eight or so years ago, the artist shared the following explanation on Flickr:

"In keeping with my interest in pixellation's relationship with painting and its mechanics [and] traditions, I have begun collecting images of recognizable personalities as they are depicted in games and drawing them as one might create a portrait drawing from a photograph or a live sitter."

Want to see more of Anderson's pixelated depictions of the Aliens protagonist? Check out "Ellen (Ms X #1)" and "Ellen as April as Ellen."

Consider scouring his Instagram and Flickr photostreams, too. Both are filled with fascinating, game-inspired works of art.

Let's take a minute to chat about (and ogle) Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna's gorgeous character designs

I'm looking forward to putting loads of games--new and old--through their paces in 2016, but one of the former that I'm especially keen on playing is Square Enix's throwback RPG known as Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna.

There are a ton of reasons for my interest in this upcoming PS4 and Vita adventure, of course. One is that it features a Chrono Trigger-esque battle system. Another is that it takes place (at least partially) in a breathtakingly wintry setting.

I also love that the in-game versions of Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna's many party members all boast what can only be described as "stubby feet" à la Bravely Default and Bravely Second. (And, no, I'm not kidding.)

Speaking of the game's color cast of characters, they're also among the reasons I can't wait for my retail copy to arrive on our doorstep shortly after Feb. 18.

Seriously, take a gander at the illustrations found throughout this post and then try to tell me you wouldn't kill to play through a title that stars such beauties.

Setsuna, the ponytailed "hero" and Kuon, above, are my favorites, I've got to say, but I'm also quite fond of Julion, Yomi and Keele (or Kiel).

If I were forced to choose a favorite of all Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna's currently known party members, I'd probably go with Kuon.

How about you? Which one is your favorite?

Also, are any of you also chomping at the bit to play some iteration of this retro-tinged RPG in the coming year?

See also: 'Square Enix's beautiful throwback of an RPG, Ikenie to Yuki no Setsuna, will be mine sometime on or around Feb. 18'

Oskunk x Torchic x 3DS Cover Plate

Although I've never been the biggest Pokémon fan--yes, despite the rather ridiculous purchase I made a couple of years ago--I've always had a soft spot for the little buggers.

I especially like the "Pocket Monsters" that are especially, almost sickeningly, cute--which should help explain why I find the Oskunk creation below so darn appealing.



I don't know about you, but until I saw this faux 3DS cover plate, I had no idea Torchic's Japanese name was Achamo. (That's what the text found in the upper-left corner says, by the way.)

Should you want to see a few more photos of this beauty, head on over to Oskunk's blog.

See also: previous Oskunk-centric posts

A couple of Katamari Damacy + Solitiba doodles for anyone who cares

So, I recently started doodling again.

Not that I ever meant to stop, mind you--or not that I made some sort of specific pact with myself to stop, at least.

In fact, I can't remember when my "doodling" trailed off, although I'm pretty sure it was more than a year ago.

As for why this happened, I can only guess at this point, but I have a feeling I simply ran out of ideas. 

My brain recently became flooded with ideas, though, thanks to a project I'm working on for the technical writing certificate program I'm taking through the Seattle branch of the University of Washington. 

Specifically, I'm working on a "quick-reference guide" for the weird Game Freak-developed and -published 3DS (and iOS) title that has gotten so much attention here in the last six months or so, Solitiba. 

Although the focus of this document is its text--which is supposed to help people understand and remember the nuances of the various "phases" associated with Solitiba's racing segments--I want to make it visually appealing, too, so I decided a couple of weekends ago to whip up a few drawings that could be snuggled within all of the letters and punctuation.

My first creation wasn't a total success. (Check it out here, if you're feeling adventurous.) Later efforts were a lot better, though, if I do say so myself.

I don't know if I'd say this is an example of the latter, but I also wouldn't call it a complete turd. Granted, it was a quick-and-dirty sketch produced as a sort of placeholder image for my guide's cover. (In the end, I decided to go with something else.)

I like the doodle, above, a lot more. Of course, what's not to like about a cute little horse with a sparkly mane and stubby legs that's attempting (not very successfully, mind you) to play solitaire?

This drawing, on the other hand, is supposed to depict a similarly stylized undulate teetering atop a house of cards (or, "Horse of Cards," which is the name I gave to this image when I published it on deviantart a couple of days ago).

Had enough of my Solitiba-inspired illustrations (if they can even be called that)? How about a Katamari Damacy-inspired illustration? I concocted it after one of my new colleagues wore a Katamari-branded t-shirt to work last Friday.

I have a feeling Katamari Damacy's denizens usually don't alter their antennae like this one has, but what can you do?

Anyway, if you like any or all of the doodles shared here, you may want to head over to my deviantart gallery and take a gander the handful of others I've generated in the last few years.

See also: previous posts about Solitiba

'Dead Wario' mug + 'Dead Mario' badges by the illustrious OSKUNK!

Those of you who've been coming here for a bit should be well aware of my love for the artist who calls himself OSKUNK!

(Don't worry, the exclamation point at the end there is his doing, not mine. Not that I hate exclamation points, mind you.)



After all, I've published just a few posts about his creations over the years--a good number of which have focused (and deservedly so) on his custom-painted Dreamcast consoles and controllers.

Today's post, though, focuses on some of his Nintendo-centric concoctions, with the first being the completely awesome "Dead Wario" mug showcased in the photo above.

Seriously, if I had one of these mugs, I'd never drink out of anything else. Even when I switched from coffee or tea to water or soda or booze.



The "Dead Mario" badges shown in the following photo are pretty great, too, but it's kind of hard for them to compete against the "Dead Wario" mugs, isn't it?

If you'd like even more OSKUNK! goodness, by the way, be sure to check out the custom-painted Super Smash Bros. GameCube controller that can be spied here.

Boy, does this piece of Pac-Land art (produced by madamluna) bring back memories...

Of all the games I've attached memories to over the years, Pac-Land has to be among the oddest. After all, it's not like this quarter-muncher from 1984 is one of Namco's most-loved releases. Hell, it's not even one of the company's most-loved Pac-Man spin-offs.

I guess Pac-Land just came into my life at the right place and time. The former is especially relevant to this story, I think, considering the setting of my earliest memory of the game is a shopping-mall arcade that was located a few hours away from where I grew up.

I'm sad to say I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first encountered the Pac-Land cabinet in the aforementioned arcade, but I'm pretty sure I was in my early teens. Regardless, I distinctly remember my incredulous reaction to it. After all, this was a Pac-Man game that looked and played like the original Super Mario Bros.

And don't forget: this was back when the Internet was but a gleam in Al Gore's eye. If you didn't read gaming mags at that time, you often didn't know which quarter-munchers were being released or when until you walked into your local arcade, bar, bowling alley and the like.

Anyway, I was blown away the first time I laid eyes on Pac-Land. Admittedly, its odd control scheme--one button moves Pac-Man to the right, one moves him to the left and one makes him jump--leaves something to be desired, as does the repetitive simplicity of its overall gameplay, but this platformer's vividly colorful, "Saturday morning cartoon" visuals do quite a bit to make up for those flaws--or at least that's the effect they've always had on me.

All of the above should help explain why the piece of art that serves as the focus of this post resonated with me as much as it did when I first came across it late last week. Actually, I'm pretty sure it would have resonated with me even if I weren't an unabashed Pac-Land fan thanks to the unmistakable look of innocence and wonder that's splashed across Pac-Man's face.

Artist Pauli Kohberger, aka madamluna, is responsible for this winsome illustration, by the way. If you'd like to see more examples of her work--and, really, why wouldn't you?--head over to madamluna.deviantart.com at your earliest convenience.

EarthBound on the brain

You know what I'd like to play on my 3DS sometime soon? No, not Fantasy Life--although I'll definitely be ripping into this role-playing game's packaging and popping its cartridge into my pink-and-white XL as soon as it arrives on my doorstep late next month.

In fact, the game that's currently topping my 3DS wish list isn't even a retail release; rather, it's a digital one--or it would be this time around.

As for which digital title I'm talking about: it's EarthBound--although I kind of gave that away in the header above, didn't I?

In any case, why has Nintendo made its classic RPG available to folks who own a Wii U but not to those who own a 3DS? I have no idea, but I hope they rectify the situation in the near future.

While all of us Wii U-less EarthBound fans wait for that to happen, we may as well content ourselves by ogling the following pair of illustrations that were inspired by this Shigesato Itoi-made masterpiece.

This first piece was produced by Orioto and is called "Night Visitor." (See it in all its original glory here.)

The colorful creation above ("Psychic Kids"), on the other hand, was concocted by Ry-Spirit. (Take a closer look at it here.)

See also: 'Thanks to my recently completed EarthBound playthrough, I can't get this tune out of my head'

One-Eyed Girl x Duck Hunt Dog

Is the "Duck Hunt Dog" really going to be included in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U as a playable character? I have no idea, of course, but I can't help but hope the rumor that suggests he's going to make a noteworthy appearance in the above-mentioned pair of games proves to be true upon their release.

Why, you ask? I don't really know, to tell you the truth--other than I think it sounds like he'd be a fun character to bring into battle. (I'd also like to bring the Ice Climber protagonists into battle, it should be said, but it sounds like they're being left out this time around?)

I can't say with any certainty that artist One-Eyed Girl (aka Kasey Tararuj) is as interested in all of this as I am, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she is, especially after coming across the adorable creation below.

Tararuj's take on the "Duck Hunter" was included in the "8 Bit and Beyond 2" show recently presented by the Bottleneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, by the way. Sadly for any of us who'd like to own one of these "custom bubs," and happily for Tararuj, the one showcased above was snapped up by some eagle-eyed gallery-goer. Oh, well, at least we can take in the photos that can be seen here.

'Ugh'

OK, so the actual title of the colorful piece of pop art, produced by deviantartist melonjaywalk (aka Francis Gordon), that serves as the focal point of this post is "Hero." I really love the speech-bubble-wrapped "ugh" that appears in its upper-left corner, though, so that's what I went with when I came up with the header above.

Anyway, should one or more of you fine folks know which game the sprite showcased in "Hero" was pulled from, I'd greatly appreciate being enlightened as to its name in the comments section below.

Orioto x Final Fantasy VII

True story: I've only spent about a week of my life playing Squaresoft's (as Square Enix was known at the time) Final Fantasy VII.

This happened back when I was a freshman or sophomore in college, by the way. I used to rent a PlayStation system plus a game or two from a nearby Blockbuster (if memory serves) on a fairly regular basis, and on one occasion Final Fantasy VII was my chosen pick-up.

Oddly, I barely remember anything about this 32-bit RPG other than liking the rather chunky look of its protagonists (in the overworld segments, at least) and its soundtrack.

Which means, of course, that I'm going to have to buy a copy at some point and give it a proper playthrough. Maybe after I finally get a Vita?

In the meantime, I'll have to make do with staring at Orioto's Final Fantasy VII-inspired poster, seen on the right.

Should you want to own one of these posters, by the way, you can do so by heading to redbubble.com. Don't dawdle, though, as apparently Orioto's only selling 50 of them (at $16.20 a pop).

To see more of Orioto's art, check out his deviantart gallery.

Chocobo + Yoshi x Oskunk

I don't know which of the following pair of game-inspired "graffiti" illustrations I like better: the Yoshi one or the Chocobo one.

If I were forced to choose, I'd probably go with the latter, mainly because I've always had a soft spot for the banana-hued Final Fantasy mainstay, but also because I've had Square Enix's classic RPG series (and its spinoffs) on the mind lately due to the impending release of Theathrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.

Regardless, both of these Oskunk creations are pretty cool, if you ask me. Speaking of Oskunk, if you'd like to see more examples of this French artist's work, I'd highly recommend checking out his blog, Custom Art, at your earliest convenience.

See also: 'An artistic mash-up I'd never considered before now: Kirby x Zelda'

'Yr Surprising No-One'

I'm not entirely sure what inspired artist melonjaywalk to produce this lovely piece of art, but I think it may have been Far Cry 4's controversial cover imagery.

Of course, it's possible I'm just reading too much into this quote, which Francis (melonjaywalk's actual first name) posted alongside his pixelated painting:

"I feel lame to the max seeming as the only way I could identify a character as 'gay' in this is via the colour pink, but I guess being obvious is better than abstraction at this point."



The sprites included in this acrylic-on-canvas creation were pulled from 1995's Super Bomberman 3 (SNES/Super Famicom), by the way--which is one of the few Bomberman games I've yet to experience.

Anyway, if you'd like to check out more of melonjaywalk's stuff--and why on earth wouldn't you want to do that?--saunter over to his deviantart.com gallery at your earliest convenience.

See also: 'Don't get yr hopes up'

'Sweet dream' indeed ...

I don't know about you, but I haven't run into many examples of NSFW-ish fan art devoted to Nintendo's pugilistic Punch-Out!! series over the years--which, in my humble opinion, is a crying shame.

Sadly, the piece of saucy fan art below (titled "Sweet Dream") doesn't include Little Mac, but it's so appealing even without his presence that I won't spend too much time complaining about the oversight.

This drawing was produced by the hand of artist Pauli Kohberger (aka madamluna), by the way. To see more of her stuff, check out her deviantart gallery (which contains a number of additional Punch-Out!!-inspired pieces) or her site, Electric Stories.

See also: 'Kirby and Meta Knight en fleur'

Say hello to my new Twitter header image

Those of you who frequent Twitter likely are aware that the site recently overhauled the design of its profile pages to make them look a bit more like the ones found on social-media rival Facebook.

I've avoided updating my Twitter profile page until now out of sheer laziness, but all of that changed last night because ... actually, I have no idea why it changed last night. Regardless, something prompted me to get off my butt and update my Twitter profile.

Sadly, my first attempts were kind of hideous (mostly due to my inability to find high-res images of certain Kuso Miso Technique illustrations). So, this morning I decided to make my own profile image. Not a Kuso Miso Technique-inspired one, mind you--I wish I were talented enough to do that, but I'm not.



No, the thing I came up with (above) is more of a doodle. Still, I think it's pretty cute--even if the rainbow flag being carried by the PC Engine on the left is a bit wonky. (The other systems are a Nintendo DS and a Sega Dreamcast, in case it isn't obvious.)

Anyway, head on over to my Twitter profile page if you'd like to see a much larger version of it. Or just go there so you and I can interact with each other in 140 characters or less.

See also: other gaming-related doodles I've whipped up over the years

I'd prefer this on a t-shirt, but I'll take it as a poster

The "this" mentioned in the header above is the PaRappa the Rapper-inspired illustration found below, by the way.

Oh, and the illustration in question was produced by artist Ashley Davis for the "Fangamer X Attract Mode Art Show" that took place during last year's PAX Prime.



If you're as big a PaRappa fan as I am (and, really, who isn't?) and you'd like to nab an 11-inch-by-17-inch giclee print like the one showcased in the photo above, head over to fangamer.net with 25 of your hard-earned bucks in tow at your earliest convenience.

See also: previous write-ups about Ashley Davis' work

It's always a good time for Chrono Trigger fan art, don't you think?

Although I've never played through Chrono Trigger (yes, my head is bowed in shame), I watched my older brother play through enough of it back in the day to feel like I played through it myself.

Don't worry, I'm not planning to go through life without actually experiencing this classic RPG all by myself. In fact, I'd like to finally give it a go sooner rather than later. (The question is, should I opt for the SNES original or the DS port that was released a couple of years ago?)

In the meantime, though, I'll have to make due with staring at the awesome Chrono Trigger-inspired poster collection concocted earlier this year by artist Mikaël Aguirre (aka Orioto).

The one to the right, "Renaissance," is my favorite of the six Aguirre created, but all of them are pretty darn great, in my humble opinion.

You can see the rest of them, by the way, by heading over to Aguirre's deviantART gallery. Oh, and you can buy either posters or framed prints of each of the pieces at redbubble.com. Posters will run you between $16 and $42, while framed prints are $97 to $162.

Kirby and Meta Knight 'en fleur'

I may be an odd Kirby fan (my first two Kirby experiences were with Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby's Epic Yarn), but I'm a Kirby fan nonetheless.

As such, I'm always down for great pieces of Kirby fan art--like the ones below, for instance.



Both were created by artist Pauli Kohberger, aka madamluna, for the soon-to-be-released Kirby’s Dream Zine.

For more on the latter, click on the link above. To see more examples of Kohberger's work, on the other hand, go to madamluna.deviantart.com or electricopolis.net.

'Don't get yr hopes up'

I know I tend to present myself as a rather peppy and positive person on line, but believe me when I tell you I have a cynical side. (Just ask my husband if you want confirmation.)

I share that to explain both why I like the painting below--the title of which serves as this post's header, by the way--as well as why I've liked pretty much every piece of art New Zealand-based deviantart user melonjaywalk has produced.



It also should help explain why I got such a kick out of a note melonjaywalk published along with the painting, which was inspired by a scene in Sonic the Hedgehog 3: "Was originally just a landscape before I decided that I just needed to ruin it somehow. So, text."

To see more of melonjaywalk's stuff, go to melonjaywalk.deviantart.com or melonjaywalk.tumblr.com.

I've never been much of a Sonic fan, but ...

... that isn't keeping me from coveting the custom-painted Dreamcast controller seen in the photo below.

Of course, I'm a fan of pretty much everything artist OSKUNK creates, so what else is new, right?



I wonder if he also made a Dreamcast system that continues the theme? If so, he isn't yet willing to show it off.

In the meantime, let's ogle OSKUNK's controller (I mean that literally, not figuratively)--and afterward maybe go play a Dreamcast game or two.

A fairly gay Q&A with Aedan Roberts (aka the artist behind the 'Nüdtendo' portrait series)

Although scores of people have produced illustrations, paintings and other pieces of art that depict Nintendo's characters in various states of undress, few have done so with the kind of whimsical verve that's on display in each and every one of Aedan Roberts' "Nüdtendo" portraits.

You see, all 18 of the portraits Roberts has completed so far render the Japanese giant's extensive stable of colorful protagonists and cohorts as both naked and, to varying degrees, surprised and embarrassed.

Roberts recently agreed to answer a handful questions about what prompted him to start the series, why he decided to focus on Nintendo characters, how many more he plans to produce and much more.

The Gay Gamer: When did you start creating these "Nüdtendo" portraits, and what prompted you to do so?

Aedan Roberts: I began creating this series back in the summer of 2012. Up until that point, all my gallery work was intentionally devoid of work that contained other people's intellectual property. I was still trying to figure out a way to do it without falling directly into the "fan art" category while also doing something fun and original.

At the time, I was doodling some of my favorite characters and was up to Mario. I tend to draw my characters naked when I'm working out their proportions and then add the clothes in a later version. But before I could progress, my boyfriend stopped me and told me I had something with this stout, squat, embarrassed creature I had just doodled. So I finished him up, painted him, and then did another two vignettes (Link and Samus). The results were so popular that I decided to go whole hog and make it into a series.

The Gay Gamer: Why did you decide to focus on Nintendo characters?

Aedan Roberts: The decision to concentrate on Nintendo characters was both because I love the long, storied history of Nintendo intellectual property and because it gave unity to the project.

I grew up as a fan of Nintendo. Our very first console was an SNES and from there I have owned every single generation (barring the Wii U at the moment). I have such an emotional attachment to these characters, and if I was going to create a satire where I reproduce a famous series of characters, I wanted it to be these.

The Gay Gamer: Was your plan all along to create a series, by the way, or did that just come to you after you'd made a few?

Aedan Roberts: I decided to turn it into a full-on series after the original three proved to be so popular. I then gave myself a goal--52--that I don't know if I'll reach, but I'll definitely try.

The Gay Gamer: Can you tell me a bit about how they're created? Based on the descriptions you've included on your etsy shop, I'm guessing they're paintings? Regardless, what kind of process do you go through to produce them?

Aedan Roberts: Each character is drawn out so I can translate it into my style. After that, I try to make sure the proportions are in line with the previous characters and then I re-draw the sketch onto hot press watercolor paper. I then glue the paper to a small wooden board, paint the character and then place the board into a custom-painted shadowbox. The color of each shadowbox is made to coincide with the character within. That way, when the shadowboxes are placed together, it forms a pixel-like color grid.