Life Through The Pixel Glass-01/02/2013

t’s a new year everyone! 2012 has been a momentous year in the realm of video games. From its events to its releases the calendars of gamers everywhere have had their work cut out for them, but we’re pretty sure there’s nothing to worry about with titles like Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider around the corner. This week is a bit slow on the news front but maybe it’s a good time to kick back and relax, and enjoy the latest Life Through The Pixel Glass.

Imagine if you will, a game that apes the play of Secret of Mana, but containes the mechanics of Ikaruga, the difficulty of Ghosts ‘n Goblins and was all-around spooky as shit? Radio The Universe is that game and even the work in progress so far is a worthy beast to gaze upon in the footage above. The pixelated aesthetic shown in and out between cutscenes and gameplay footage portrays a raincoat slickened hero walking around in a giant top-down overworld with sandbox elements and a sci-fi overtone that reeks of Akira and Evangellion. Indie designer SixeSixeSixe (or 6e6e6e if you prefer?) has currently met the production goal and is now looking to bolster the game’s content beyond the initial layout with funding from stretch goals. No release date yet, but Radio The Universe has met it’s primary funding goal and is set to set to release in 2013. With stake invested towards the promise of this different kind of game and the rate its being funded at, this could be 2013’s first Kickstarter success story in the vein of FTL.

While Radio The Universe may have its primary goal out of the way, WynLABS is unfortunately not so privileged to rest on its laurels quite yet and it’s a damn shame considering the prospect of this Kickstarter premise. The WynCase doesn’t exactly introduce a new idea; plenty of independent delevopers have been looking into a way to apply tactile button use to the iPhone/iPod touch and other mobile platforms and done so with little or no success. instead, the WynCase is looking to change that by reshaping the button scheme to fit and ultimately transform your phone into an extension, and the end result is highly appealing. The bridge technology is intriguing as to where it’s physically using the touch to touch ratio of the control tech within an iPhone, and works to fully eliminate any input lag between button presses and game response. Most developers have peddled this idea prior, but the WynCase looks to possess all of the qualities necessary to practically implement and achieve the goal with their project and yet they’re nowhere near they’re goal yet. We wish them luck in the next 10 days and fully endorse this project to get launched from the ground.

First 4 Figures is at it again with another project that’s personally close to my black withered heart as they labor towards delivering an authentic portrayal of Yokosuka’s favorite son, Ryo Hazuki. The Shenmue protagonist, no matter how hard you may be shaking your jaded fist right now, is one of the most iconic characters in video games and the teaser images show promise to faithfully represent his image. From his eighties-ass leather jacket to the famous cheek bandage before Nelly was a thing, First 4 Figures have simply released one teaser image that you’re seeing here in hope to build up anticipation for the figure when pre-orders are made available. For future updates, check out their site here, and also be sure to check out their already established collection of statues that range from Sonic The Hedgehog to The Legend of Zelda; a personal favorite statue made from the same company is the Metroid ship, definitely worth the spondili it demands to brandish this thing on your shelf or mantle within the Man Cave you call home. The site can be visited right here, also, you can find a really sweet and modestly priced Mario statue that functions as a DS holder, now THAT'S nifty.

Personal friend of the show and modern day renaissance artist of the video game community, Cody Winn is both an incredibly talented freelance writer and an artist with a broad range of skills in cartooning and portraits. Cody started writing since the early days of 1up.com, and then BitMob turned Gamesbeat on occasion; he now has his own blog where you can find his thoughts regarding video games and life in general here. Give it a look why don’t you.

Ever curious about the initial concept art from some of your favorite games, like, how did this design win over any other possible design that could’ve came before it? Until now, we weren’t exposed to such skeletons of game development unless it was included as content within the final release but blog site Creative Uncut has archived, logged, and organized over dozens of game concept art for hundreds of titles. You can look up your favorite game here and check out what Kratos was initially set to look like or if Klonoa was always a cat or whatever the hell he is now I guess.