Boing Boing's 8-bit obsession is now a contest

From Boing Boing:

We love chiptunes, the quirky celebration of 8-bit-style music that's become a a vibrant genre of its own with a thriving scene supporting it. The compositions evoke a time where electronic musicians had to make the most of the limited resources offered by primitive computing technology. Keeping that fire alive, the latest compositions are like the soundtracks to vintage videogames that never existed.

As teased last week, we're joining with Safari Books Online, the massive online library of technical know-how, to honor the mighty chip in the form of a Game Dev Challenge. Your task is to make those games real. For inspiration or technical insight, Safari Books Online is offering Boing Boing readers 30 days free access to five videogame-related books from the library.

Game dev folks have until July 5 to get there 8-bit tribute to Boing Boing to submit in time. The prizes include a limited-edition art print to a Gama-Goon statue


While we understand the nostalgia around 8-bit graphics and music it seems quite tired now. Boing Boing might as well be asking the game development community to make a cubist game. It is endemic of a culture of sentimentality and childhood obsession that is running rampant.


This contest does nothing to move gaming forward. It only keeps us mired in the past.