Upgrading ikecube.com

A recent Slashdot article included a link to my Mobile War I post, and the subsequent internet traffic to my blog has caused some issues with comments, user registration, and site stability (slashdot effect).

 
I am going to upgrade the version of WordPress I am using and possibly migrate to a different (paid) server. This upgrade and migration may affect access periodically for the next few days. So if you can’t access what I know is your favorite site, then don’t fret ; just came back later.

You might see 404 error in the meantime – sorry.  =(

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All Things Etsy: Perler Video Game Art

Whether it’s pimping your cube, your home-office, your refrigerator, or your “naughty room”, none are complete without a set of 8-bit characters in perler Beads.

Self-taught perler artist, Nic, has created some of our favorite characters from the 8 and 16-bit area of video games and is selling them on Etsy. Not only that, but there is a Christmas Sale and you can now get any of his creations 10% off.

Not only that, but Nic will add Magnets or Velcro to the backs at no additional charge, so that they can be prominently displayed in your favorite location.

Best of all, both the beads and the art are 100% made in America, so you can be sure that no Chinese kid’s fingers were abused in the creation of these extremely durable graphics.

Nic also does custom-sprites, so if there is a particular sprite character that catches your fancy, then he will make it for you (Bikini-clad Samus Aran comes to mind).

One of my friends has already made an entire scene from Nic’s art (note: soda can for proportion only):

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@ $1.91 in Santa Barbara, CA

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Hidden Gem: 8 bit boys

How this escaped my attention until now, I don’t know.

For the fans of nerdcore music, there is a superforce collaboration between four of the strongest names in HipHop: Ytcracker, Entity, The Ranger, and T.Y.T. known collectively as the 8 Bit Boys.

This collab-album is a throw-back to the days of the NES and uses 8-bit remixes mixed with a solid beat as a backdrop for the lyrically mastery of these four geniuses.

Remixed music incldues tracks from the Castlevania seies (“intro”), Bad Dudes (“Bad Dudes”), Metroid (“8 Bit Blisters”), Mega Man (“8-Bit Diagrams”), Ultima (“Late Gamer”), and a couple others that I can’t name for sure (Skate or Die on “Gangster Gamers”?).

The lyrics cover topics very relative to the vintage gaming of the 8 and 16 bit era such as Consoles that crash, wires that short out, limited console availability at launch, contoller hogs, and gamer’s thumb.

The album officially launched on November 02 of this year – so its been out a whole month and I didn’t see any coverage on it until I was researching the identities of the Calvin and Hobbes album (highly recommended!), who lead me to Entity’s myspace, and then to their collab project.

I regularly follow the GameMusic4All blog, but I searched in my google reader archives and found zilch.
How was this awesome album missed?

BTW, if you can’t cough up the $10 for the full album, there is a cripple-ware SP available for free.

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Mobile Information Revolution / Mobile War I

In what is heating up to be the first of several wars in the Mobile space, we observe the skirmish-turned-assault on what used to be a RIM/Symbian oligopoly that will result in a game-changing revolution.

Hit the jump for an industry analysis, and what we can expect in the future.

Read the rest of this entry »

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