Double Triptych: Retro, Imaginary Games for Movies and TV Shows

"Flight of the Conchords: Season 2" by Max Atom
(Full game download here!)

"Scruffy For Atari" by Ron Workman

"A Game of Ice & Fire II" (t-shirt) by Drew Wise

"Inception" by Penney Design

"Hunger Retro Game" by Drew Wise

"ConfederVania II: Abraham's Quest" by Timothy Lim

Sorry for the unwieldy title, but I'm working with a pretty specific theme today: box art for imaginary games based on contemporary movies and TV shows, if they were made for the NES or Atari 2600.

These have been piling up for a while, which is why there are two entries from Drew Wise in the mix. The Flight of the Conchords game seen above is NOT imaginary, as someone has elected to make an entire 8-bit game based on the adventure of Bret and Jemaine. And that last entry is, of course, inspired by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Also, I would play all of these games. In fact, I'm playing one of them right now.

Triptych: Blow, Insert, Play

"Game Boy" by Andrew Heath

"Simpler Days" by Jay Roeder

"NES vs. Converse" by Andrew Lockhart

Showcase: VGJunk's NES Games That Don't Exist

"Red Dwarf"

"Night of the Living Dead"

"Jacob's Ladder"

"American Psycho"

"Ghost World"

"Mystery Science Theater 3000"

[License Videogames That Don't Exist]
[More License Videogames That Don't Exist]
[Even More License Videogames That Don't Exist]

Triptych: Nintendo Life

"8-Bit Design Challenge Thingy" by Fitz Fitzpatrick

"Welcome Back, My Old Friend" by Kioshi Shimabuku

"Invincible" by Heather Doyle

Showcase: Ty Lettau's 8-Bit NES Cartridges

"The Legend of Zelda"

"Metroid"

"Super Mario Bros."

Ty Lettau is currently one of my favourite pixel artists and these 8-bit NES cartridge designs are a big part of the reason why.

[Ty Lettau's Flickr Page]

Triptych: Land of Mushrooms

"Breakfast Power" by Vince Bocognani

"Super Limbo Land" by iGreefing

(Click for full-size)
"Mario World" by Glen Brogan

Triptych: a PhD in Mycology

"The Hardest Part" by Zac Gorman

"Mario M.D." (t-shirt) by Faniseto

"Dr. Mario ID Badge" by Mark Welser

Triptych: Games of Ice and Fire

"Game of Thrones" (t-shirt) by Drew Wise

"Super Frodo Bros." (t-shirt) by Pauline Acalin

"At The Mountains of Madness" (iPhone case) by Josh Legendre

Imaginary Games: NES Box Cover Art

"Super Doctor Hazmat" (t-shirt) by Doctor Hazmat

I don't know what Doctor Hazmat is (a webcomic? a themed store?) but I dig the idea of a science-themed Nintendo game. Doctor Hazmat's GIR-like robot M.A.C. is also pretty rad.

"Mass Effect NES Box" by The Arcade Artist

Alongside retro 8-bit NES box art, the Arcade Artist does very cool 8-bit sprite magnets, available for sale on her website.

"A-B-Up-Down-Left-Right-Select-Start" (prints and posters) by Adam Campbell

I feel like I've posted this before, but it's worth a repost. I particularly like the faux-box-damage.

"Calvin and Hobbes Nintendo Video Game" by Jeff Wysaski

Check out Jeff's entry for his imaginary Calvin and Hobbes game here. He's not only mocked up the above box cover but also actual in-game screenshots. Worth checking out.

"DuckTales #1" (variant cover) from Boom! Studios (art by Matt Needham)

This variant cover for Boom! Studios' first issue of DuckTales was sold exclusively at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con. Interestingly, it was written by long-time Disney fan Warren Spector, the man responsible for Epic Mickey, Thief, and the first two Deus Ex games.

"Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth" by SharkBomb

It's Deadpool in a videogame. 'Nuff said.

Triptych: Two-Button Glory

"Belmont Vampire Removal" (t-shirt) by Tee VS Tee

"The 14th Annual Duck Hunt Super Shootout" by Eric Tan

"Don't Give Up, Little Mac!" by scrotumnose

Triptych: Retro Box Covers as Series Art

"The Venture Brothers, Season Three" (Blu-Ray\DVD cover)

"The Guild, Season Five" (promotional poster design)

"The Mercury Men" (promotional fake game box art)

All three of the above deserve your time and attention, but I'd like to draw your attention to The Mercury Men in particular today. A webseries produced by Syfy, The Mercury Men is inspired by 1940s-era serials and is altogether one of the best-acted, best-produced webseries out there right now. What pushes it over the top for me, though, is the extensive and clever array of "digital props" they've come up with to promote the series - including but not limited to action figures, retro trading cards, a breakfast cereal (complete with cutout masks), and both a fake Atari game and a fake Nintendo game. THIS is how you promote a series, people.