Game Over, Man, Game Over
I’m doing another show at Giant Robot SF. The theme for this one is “Video Games.” You like video games, don’t you? Sadly, I won’t be able to attend the opening next Saturday (October 11th), but you should still check it out. There are some sweet artists that are taking part.
I did a couple of pieces for the show. One of them is the black and white Mario one above. Drawing this made me truly appreciate how large the Mario universe is. I don’t know, it’s kind of mind-boggling how many characters there are. Not only characters, but species, genuses, phylum… all that jazz. Can someone break down the taxonomy of Super Mario Bros. convincingly for me? That’d be amazing.
Hm, that kind of got me thinking… you know, the answer to all those tough existential questions that are at the core of every religion is that we’re all part of one big video game. I mean, really, put yourself in the shoes of a video game character.
I imagine Mario the Creationist and Luigi the Atheist having a discussion that goes something like this:
Mario: “Ah, Miyamoto bless-ah us all. He-ah create-ah the power-ups, he create-ah the Yoshi for us to ride-ah on. And at the end-ah of the day, we always save-ah the princess! So long as we believe-ah in Miyamoto, he provide-ah for us.”
Luigi: “Speak-ah for yourself-ah, you figlio di puttana (son of a whore). If Miyamoto really exist, why-ah he create-ah the bottomless pit? Why-ah the hell do I always get locked in-ah the haunted house-ah and have-ah to be rescued! Why-ah he create-ah the goomba, huh?!”
Mario: “Luigi, my brother, your faith-ah in Miyamoto is not strong-ah enough.”
And Yoshi, the Buddhist, might tell them to follow the noble path, free themselves from the material world, and attain the 1-up.
So yeah, in this video game religion, The Game Creator created The Game, but we are all The Players. That is, we have free will, although there is meaning to life, i.e. The Goal of the Game. No ones exactly sure what The Goal is. However there is one rule: you play The Game the best you can, and while you’re playing, you don’t worry about what happens after The Game Over. Perhaps you start over and play the game again, only with a new character, or perhaps you don’t… it shouldn’t change how you play the game. Some day, The Game Creator might simply turn off The Game.
In this religion, video game developers and other artistic types are considered prophets, because they wield the power of creation. And anyone can become one, all you have to do is create something.
The other thing I did for the artshow was this pair of oil paintings showing Hitler’s head getting blown apart.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Are you sure that isn’t Von Kaiser’s head getting beat in from Mike Tyson’s Punchout? hmmmMMM?
http://bp2.blogger.com/_30PkTrCjUnA/SC3unFIXCTI/AAAAAAAAABw/Q7z3WiE8KC8/s1600-h/20070920-Von_Kaiser.png
October 6th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hitler exploding is from the end of Bionic Commando right? Awesome work duder.
Re: universes:: You might appreciate this article in Harper’s about Billy Mitchell, especially this excerpt
“In 1982, Walter wrote an editorial
in USA Today in which he compared
his players to research scientists.
“Both are trying to unravel the
same kinds of mysteries,†he wrote,
“using the same methods.†Now, as
corn rushes past the windows, Walter
talks about how higher scores
mark more complete knowledge. For
Walter, Twin Galaxies was more
than an arcade; it was a constellation
of universes, lined up in neat arcade-
lane rows, each with its own
language, its own physics, its own
Creator. “We turned the lights
down,†he says wistfully, “to see
these windows into other worlds. Because
the screens were so lovely,
glowing in the dark.—
http://laweekly.blogs.com/joshuah_bearman/files/harpers_billy_mitchell.pdf
October 6th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I think you just described the plot of Tron. Anyway, nice drawings/paintings.
October 6th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I really should not write these posts at 4 in the morning!
October 6th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
sweet mario!
October 6th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Mein fuhrer! :’(
October 6th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Actually, that sounds like the plot of The Nines.
Those are both awesome pieces.
A species chart of Mario World would be pretty fucking nifty.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:19 am
hohoho fuckin’ sweet!
October 7th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Awesome art man.
Why do all of these events have to take place all the way in Cali?
October 10th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Is that from Bionic Commando?
October 10th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
everytime you make an exceptionally phantasmagoric drawing i make it my desktop wallpaper
keep making them please!
October 11th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Derek,
What are your plans now that Aquariu is finished? You’re the next Miyamoto, so why are yu not famous yet?
Also, how does one go about developing 2D game-boy-advance-esque games without Flash?
October 15th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Totally radd.
I enjoyed the art and the post. Keep writing them at 4 in the morning.
October 15th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Haha, you’re such a dork. Thats funny though. I’m actually working on a project for my graphic design class involving Hitler. what a guy.
October 18th, 2008 at 9:13 am
is Peach sucking off that mushroom????
October 18th, 2008 at 10:11 am
even though you are a stuck up douchebag, that’s a cool mario universe piece!
November 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
This is totally some of your best work.
November 11th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Thanks, guys! Even you, anony mouse.
May 27th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Praise Miyamoto!