#crt 2012

[webdiggerxxx]

ೃ༄ੈ✩‧₊˚

[batsplat]

kind of recently clocked that marc took caseys honda seat coming into 2013 (not saying he didn’t deserve a factory seat immediately bc he obviously did, kid went and podiumed his first and won his second ever race on that bike but it somehow never crossed my mind and it’s kind of insane to imagine now that a rookie would get it) and i was wondering if there was something To Know about that mid to end 2012 season, about vale back to yamaha and casey retiring and casey and danis teammateship and how dani reacted to marc getting that seat etc i love love love your rambles so if you got thoughts please share?

y'know what. let's do this one with bullet points

at the start of 2012, retirement rumours were swirling around two riders. one was casey stoner.... the other was valentino rossi

valentino was entering year two of a miserable stint at ducati, trapped on a bike that was *checks notes* shit and that was still several years away from making the kinds of improvements that could make it championship-winning machinery in anyone's hands (remember, even casey wasn't anywhere close to fighting for the title in 2010). it had also been a rough couple of years injury-wise for valentino, with 2010 bringing the shoulder injury courtesy of a motocross accident, followed by him breaking the leg at mugello. the painful shoulder problems persisted even upon his return from the leg injury, not exactly helped by his decision to delay shoulder surgery until the end of the year, and he remained hampered in 2011 while he was trying to adapt to the new bike

probably the main reason for the retirement rumours, however, was the death of simoncelli in an accident valentino had been involved in. the rumours basically started the day after the accident, and did not stop even when he showed up at valencia and raced (for about one corner until he was caught up in an ugly multi-rider pile up... kinda set off by dovi but anyways)

the rumours persisted in 2012. valentino became increasingly irritable about them.... meant that both valentino and casey were going into round three at estoril having to address the retirement talk. casey denied that he was planning to retire in the estoril pre-event presser (and he'd already kinda hinted to honda he was ready to sign a new contract)

this all led to some pretty silly drama, where the journalists were less than impressed when casey did announce his retirement two weeks later at le mans and casey went 'well I hadn't decided to retire yet back then!'

anyway, more important is the retirement announcement itself. casey made a statement at the very start of the le mans presser. here's the text:

he was the championship leader at this point, and the favourite to defend his title. of course he took a bunch of questions at the presser about the announcement, and cited several other reasons for his decision to retire, like people's reactions to his mystery illness in 2009, or too many people criticising the current racing being boring, or how they let CRT riders into parc fermé (let's not get into that)

now it's important to note that this was round four. which meant that the entire rider market was about to be spiced up... so let's backtrack a bit and talk silly season: historical edition!

okay, so marc could have feasibly moved up to motogp a year earlier, and for a large chunk of 2011 there was pretty frenzied speculation he was going to do exactly that. in october, between the phillip island and sepang rounds (where he had the crash that gave him diplopia and prematurely ended both his season and his championship bid), he finally announced he was going to stay in moto2

so, in late 2011, speculation was already of course starting for what the grid would look like in 2013, with a lot of big name contracts expiring at the end of 2012. both factory yamahas, hondas, ducatis, amongst others... you know how it goes. the expectation was broadly that casey would stick with honda and dani would be protected for at least another year by the rookie rule (more on that in a second), that jorge would stick with yamaha and... well. at this point, it was plausible valentino might sign at least a one year contract extension with ducati, with just enough glimmers of progress and signs that things might be headed in the right direction for him to want to continue building that project up

early 2012, around the time of the first race, and actually it's looking plausible that none of the six big factory seats are going to be changing hands. jorge and casey seemed the most certain ones, valentino too committed to ducati, and dani likely to sign a one year deal until marc swoops in at the end of 2013 to take his place

then casey announces his retirement, and silly season properly kicks off

first order of priority is of course the vacant repsol honda seat. now, the main thing stopping marc from getting that repsol honda seat was never actually going to be a lack of space - it was the 'rookie rule'. in 2010, a rule was introduced to stop rookies from joining the factory team. the idea was basically to help out satellite teams by giving them the chance to house a young star rider, give them publicity and results and so on (face it, how much would any of us be talking about tech3 this year without the pedro acosta factor?)

this was likely never to really work like it was supposed to, because if you're one of the factories, you can basically set up... teams that are only very theoretically 'independent'. another factory team in all but name. remember how valentino technically won his first title at a satellite team? well, that was essentially a shell team set up as a way to have somewhere to put valentino for two years while repsol honda was full. not the same team (and indeed, valentino and jb did sometimes look over at the chaos at repsol and go. good lord. what's going on there) but full factory support

in spring 2012, dorna was still adamant this rule would remain in place:

should also help explain why the general reaction to suzuki suddenly pulling out in 2022 was 'shocked but not that shocked' lol

but of course by mid-2012 this rule was facing another serious test: where do you put marc marquez, especially with this vacant repsol honda seat just sitting there? now, the valentino model did seem like a reasonable one in this situation, where you put him into an existing satellite team with heavy factory backing or even just create a new one to house him. which is something valentino himself talked about:

except, it wasn't quite that straightforward, because from 2013 onward manufacturers were limited to supplying bikes for four riders, two in a factory team and two in satellites - so you'd have to take away one of the bikes from the existing two honda satellite teams, gresini or lcr

one of the reasons why putting him in one of the existing satellite teams was a bit of an issue was that he was already backed by repsol, which could have caused sponsorship conflicts if he'd been housed with one of those other teams. but also, by this point ezpeleta was sounding rather less committed to the whole thing. from june 2012:

which.

my man

if you KNOW that the most prominent rookies can be put into shell satellites anyway and you are openly joking about it then WHAT was the POINT of any of this

by the end of the month, they gave up on the whole thing. as it happens, it wasn't even repsol honda who asked for the rule to be dropped - it was the satellite honda teams who were like 'yeah we don't actually want this kid for our team, way too stressful to make this all work for a single year before losing him anyway'

not a universally popular decision, it has to be said

it's quite likely that if casey had stayed and the rookie rule had still been dropped that hrc would have immediately taken in marc and not renewed dani's contract, which would have been a wee bit awkward given dani's late season form, but. you know. so it goes. anyway honda didn't end up having to make any tough calls

about two weeks after the rookie rule is dropped, hrc announces the two year contract with marc

by this point, valentino has had another miserable start to the season with ducati, save for a fun little wet podium at le mans - you know, the race where casey announced his retirement... they had their last ever duel there, with valentino snatching second place from casey on the last lap

photo abbove not representative of the general tone they used to discuss each other in that time period

anyhow, these rare bright spots weren't going to be enough for valentino

"There was a lot of expectation from me and from Ducati to win, but unfortunately I didn't have a good feeling with the bike, especially with the front," he said some years later. "When you are in that situation it's very difficult because you lose motivation and you lose the joy of going racing. When you start the weekend you are already in a negative way, so it's difficult, because if you don't have fun on the bike everything becomes heavier: leaving your home, all the travelling, speaking with journalists, everything. Also it becomes difficult to sleep. You are in a tunnel. When I was with Ducati I thought about stopping many times, but in the end it was a very good decision not to give up. Because if you stop and you don't have a bike then it's very easy to find yourself out of the business." - from Oxley's 'Valentino Rossi: All His Races'

he began openly talking about a return to yamaha in 2012 to replace the underperforming ben spies (though as late as july, publicly he was still talking up the chances of him sticking with ducati)... which was not a prospect welcomed by all in the factory - who saw his initial move to ducati as displaying a lack of loyalty. there was also of course the issue of yamaha wanting to avoid a repeat in the dramatics with jorge, which was certainly a topic in the negotiations. valentino's new deal with yamaha was eventually announced in august

so yes, obviously pretty qualified enthusiasm from jorge's side. it helped that it was made clear that, at the start of 2013, this was very much jorge's team, something which valentino had to work to change as a result of his level of performance (after 2013)

which left dovi to take the ducati factory seat. though he too maybe had to do a little bit of... smoothing over past comments in the negotiation process:

and that's that! there was a brief period in which honda and valentino rumours were a thing... always unlikely, given the long-standing mutual animosity there, and valentino claims he was never in contact with them. dani's contract was signed when marc's was, so that put an end to that. there was also serious speculation jorge would take casey's seat at honda, which was ended by him signing for another two years at yamaha in june. everyone sorted

dani and casey had a pretty cordial teammate relationship - though of course by this point it was already no longer really a team organised around dani as it had been in the late noughties. from late 2011 (shortly before simoncelli's passing):

and from the mind games post:

he also says the following in that passage: "some days [dani] beat us but to be honest I always felt like I had the measure of him over the course of a season"

more to be said about that relationship, of course, but it was basically harmonious on both sides, and they parted on good terms. as for dani's response to marc's signing, it wasn't like he was in a place within the team to complain too much - though his position was strengthened by his late 2012 form, where he won six of the last eight races. both of them mostly just stick to saying the standard respectful pr stuff about each other

though this is pretty funny in retrospect:

"I know nothing about pedrosa's goals" my man I think you can probably guess

[germancarssince1946]

2012 BMW M3 CRT

My tumblr-blogs: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/germancarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/frenchcarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/englishcarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/italiancarssince1946 & https://www.tumblr.com/blog/japanesecarssince1947

[jessaerys]

the first comedian i ever saw was john mulaney, whom i discovered via gifsets on tumblr, and i do not mean like, the first comedian that made comedy interesting for me or the first time i realized comedians could be funny and relatable to the #youth. i mean john mulaney's 2012 comedy special, New in Town tumblr gifsets of his noodle-y coked up stand-up alerted me to the concept of stand-up comedy as in, like, the concept of stand-up being a thing that exists, because i grew up so sheltered that i shit you not i was not allowed to watch comedians. the whole genre was banned, like movies that deal with witches, or the theory of evolution.

those i was aware existed. movies with magic in them, theater, seeing classmates outside of school hours, holidays, life saving medicine, premarital sex, being a LESBIAN, among other things, all of which i, at some point, was able to intuit were things that existed in the Them part of Us vs Them.

so they were categorized within my emerging consciousness as:

"those things i am not allowed to partake in despite really really reaally wanting to, but unfortunately, i can't, shan't, and never will, it's not in the cards for me, because, God doesn't like those cool sexy enigmatic forbidden things. and he will punish you if you do like those cool sexy enigmatic forbidden things, but don't worry, it won't be with eternal torture in hellfire - which all of those other FAKE Christians believe, unlike us, the Real Christians, who know God is loving and merciful and true, and will ONLY torture you and kill you and destroy the world and 99% of all humans present, past, and future in Armageddon with NON-eternal hellfire, and since we don't have souls because everything we are exists only in His perfect infinite memory and therefore only He, YAHWEH, whose Holy name in ancient Hebrew means "to cause to become", or "to come to pass", He is the only one who can bring you back to conscious existence after you die which he will do for all of those cool people from the past you always wanted to talk to like leonardo da vinci, or albert einstein, or jane austen, or Genghis Khan, and they will aaaaaall hang out with each other and trade juicy historical gossip with your friends and family and aall of yours and your family's resurrected dead loved ones who by the way, will all be paused at the IDEAL cusp of youth and virility, and will never grow old and live forever in a second paradise on earth where ambiguously socialist communities will live meaningful, semi-rural lives in idyllic, suspiciously american-looking stasis in a new Reality where you can farm the land and commune with nature and have a Tiger as a pet because all animals will be tame and also herbivorous for some reason— they will ALLL hang out and NONE OF THEM will ever THINK OF YOU or REMEMBER YOU or BE SAD YOU AREN'T AROUND because not only is God going to drag you to the recycle bin folder and hit DELETE FOREVER, but he is also going to eternal sunshine of the spotless mind YOU from your mom's and dad's and sister's and friend's and resurrected loved one's MEMORIES (it will be kind of like the difference between being vaporized and being beamed up in star trek, you know, like technically the same thing, but one has a way cooler outcome) God in all of his infinite benevolence and neverending mercy will condemn you to this fate only IF ☝🏽 you don't fast-forward the VHS tape during Ursula's cunty song in the little mermaid."

so i knew those things existed from the cultural osmosis they couldn't shield me from because homeschooling is, thank god, illegal in mexico.

as opposed to COMEDY, which was was apparently too abstract an art form for my feeble baby brain to conceptualize as a thing, though -to be fair- comedy consists of an old guy standing in place, talking, which -to be fair- was the one thing that would make children in the 90s not want to be glued to the mischievously electric warm and loving cloth mother box: the CRT TV. (as opposed to what a subsection of those same 90's kids's answer would be now, which is, well, you know.)

all of this is to say, john mulaney, the concept of stand-up comedy: suddenly i am connecting the dots, i am remembering moments of my life and re-contextualizing them like the last 5 minutes of The Ring, i am seeing that All Things Are Delicately Interconnected. i understood then that those references i knew cartoons like hey arnold and the animaniacs were piloting over my head but i didn't care because i was busy being six, that the little gag of a guy who is on stage under a triangle-shaped spotlight going, so what's the deal with airplane food? and getting thrown tomatoes at him (and NOT because they are the indisputable king of fruits that are vegetables, despite what the rigid tyranny of taxonomical science want you to believe -the transgender of foods, if you may),

THOSE little cartoon gags, were comedians. they told jokes for a living, outside the framework of fiction as i knew it.

and,

crucially,

they wore suits.

why? because cultural references in children's media are always a generation or two older than the children watching the cartoons are. that's just kind of how making cartoons has to be like, by virtue of children being ass at drawing. just absolutely atrocious portfolios. idiots can't even innovate on the crayon medium. composition game weak as hell. so, adults making cartoons in the 80s, living through a notorious period in kid's television known as the wild wild west where cartoons could basically show whatever the fuck they wanted short of hardcore sex, the word fuck, or god forbid, homosexuals, and the art of animation hadn't been yet massacred by calart graduates with polycule drama, when animators were REAL MEN who SMOKED like CHIMNEYS and PROVIDED for their CHILDREN by drawing SILLY ANIMALS wearing GLOVES for probably-not-racist REASONS.

so what these real men animating real art for the last generation of real children, were referencing, was the glamorous comedians of ages past, when wearing a suit was the norm.

therefore john mulaney, wearing a suit, totally normal. fork found in kitchen. frog on a lilypad. unrealistically attractive characters in daytime television hospital dramas.

well imagine my surprise when i find out that john fucking mulaney was ALSO fooled by those damn cartoons. that the majority of comedians dress like animators in the 80s.

absolute betrayal! how did we lose the art of dressing sharply for one's job, no matter how despicable! even the nazis could do it!

...and THAT'S how my set would go if i was a comedian, and you bet your ass i would be dressed to the nines. i would go all out. like puttin' on the ritz but much less like a video you and other people in your age bracket remember watching on tv as children late at night, which terrified you despite no adults noticing anything uncanny about it, but none your ragtag team of internet sleuths can't find anything about it online... and isn't that just odd.... surely, following this investigative thread will not unearth any horrors best left forgotten.......

if i was a comedian, by the way, i would definitely be the "but doctor, i am pagliacci!" kind that has a substance abuse problem, but not even one of the sexy glamorous ones like pills or cocaine or even the humble alcoholism, as i am writing all of this in one single sitting while stoned on this fancy californian edible gummy i bought legally at the Weed Store, which is now a thing that exists and is normal, and can you believe?? how wonderful life can be when you've joined the Them team ???

that's how my set would go. but not the opener, more like a second or third act set. for my first act set i would show up, wearing a suit so well-tailored every woman in a ten mile radius would fall wildly in love with me and i would stand very solemnly in silence while everyone settled down their chatter and applause, and with kind of a valley girl accent (it's not a reference or anything, we have established i can barely handle the concept of references, i just think it would be funny) with a kind of valley girl accent i would go, "anyone here like incest?"

[king-crawler]

What do you see in turbo

- unhinged angry little weirdo (desirable) (?????)

- stupid outfit & stupid catchphrase (disgustingly endearing)

- something is genuinely wrong with him

- creepy/distinctive glow in the dark face. Yellow eyed freak ! I also like teeth

- I LOVE VILLAINS. His reveal scene is so dramatic and cool.

- virus/corruption adjacent entity. Parasitizes others… He’s pulling the strings … Glitching is awesome btw it’s like one of my favorite audiovisual effects ever

- 2012 video game creepypasta energy. He’s like Polybius but stupid. TurboTime is haunted. He is Cabinet Man

- Retro arcade cabinets are just such Awesome Machines. It’s such a unique aesthetic, buzzy CRTs and flashing colorful lights, the little chiptune sound effects… the only thing that comes close to the ‘character’ embodied by arcade cabinets is maybe themed roller coasters, or real life animatronics. He definitely has that kind of appeal. The Machine

- HAVE YOU SEEN HIS CYBUG FORM ITS COOL AS FUCK HE LITERALLY TRANSFORMS INTO A GIANT ROBOTIC INSECTOID MALWARE ABOMINATION INFUSED WITH CANDY WHAT THE FUCK??????

- wreck it ralph is an amazing film and king candy is a really clever villain and I love the twist and how he relates to king candy (most normal answer)

- THE HORROR APPEAL. His Symbolism…. He’s the Creepy Ghostly Skull man . The bringer of death even. Also the fact he “haunts the narrative” because he’s so rarely seen but everyone is terrified of him, and he underlies so much of the conflict. (Like: DONT BECOME LIKE HIM.) It’s like he’s become a paranormal entity, only seen in glimpses, or dismissed as nothing but a terrible memory. His presence has become intangible, but it’s dark and all encompassing. Maybe they tried to forget. For 25 years they thought he was dead. But he was lurking in the depths of game central station hearing everything. (Don’t even get me started on the horror implications of his cybug form because Oh My God)

- but most importantly I have a personal vendetta against him because he gave me nightmares at age 14 and I also kin him slightly

- he is rotten trans man

[robsheridan]

I’m thrilled to finally have my original analog glitch skull back in print today after the first edition has been sold out for years - here’s a first look at the actual print and all its remastered details:

This has become an iconic image for my work and for analog glitch in general, as it was my first piece back in 2012 that paved the way for my analog glitch work with How To Destroy Angels and the beginning of a new fine art movement of VHS/CRT glitch that is thriving today more than ever.

For these tenth anniversary editions I went back to the original photographs (captured at high speed off the screen of an old CRT television) with everything I’ve learned over the years about mastering analog glitch for print, and the results are crisper, more vibrant, and more true to the original vision than ever before.

In the close-ups here (these are all photographs of the print itself) you can see a couple elements I’m proud of that were always very hard to preserve in print, like the subtle glow of the skull, which displayed as increasingly tiny bits of light on the pixels of the screen dithering out to black:

Every pixel of the CRT can be seen on the print until they disappear into the black, creating a glow that is soft from a distance but rich with texture up close. I strive for the very highest fidelity of low fidelity!

The first of these new editions were on display at last year's Glitch Art is Dead show for their proper 10th anniversary in 2022, and now they’re finally available: Four analog glitch anniversary editions out today (including the Welcome Oblivion vinyl album cover piece), personally signed/numbered, limited to only 30 copies!

Next month I should be able to share photos of the first-ever premium canvas editions of this work (available for pre-order now), which give it the large format fine art presentation I have always dreamed of.

All of my limited edition prints are personally signed/numbered fine art giclée prints on archival matte paper, printed by me to personally ensure the finest museum quality on 308gsm German fine art paper at ultra high 1440dpi print resolution, and packed/shipped worldwide with care by my wife Steph from our home studio in Tacoma, WA. Every print comes with a signed certificate of authenticity and an exclusive sticker.

[not-that-dillinger]

Ed curled his hand loosely around Eve's talons, but then hesitantly dropped his hand back down.

"I... he started. "Please? I could really use a distraction right about now." Ed wasn't certain if he wanted to hack into Encom's cameras or not. He was curious, and he needed to know, but he still dreaded what conclusion would come from today. He also wasn't sure if it would just make the anxiety and upset worse or not.

Eventually, the curiosity won out (Ed guessed he was going to pretend to be Pandora for the day), and he glanced sheepishly at the television stand, and the wireless trackball and keyboard sitting on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. "And... uh, sure? computer's already hooked up."

@not-that-dillinger Continuing from here, because why not :

Eve, meanwhile, is having a grand time flying around and giving everyone flashes of the bright pink feathers on the underside of her wings. She disappears for about an hour and comes back with a shoulder guard so she can ride around on Ed's shoulder (where did she get it? No one knows and she's not telling), and makes a swoop at Ed's father when the man shows up offering (hired) help to shoo the pesky bird away (direct quote).

She makes off with most of his tie, and pointedly puts it down and turns around to poo on it, before delicately picking the soiled tie up and dropping it on Dillinger Sr's head.

[crashbox1999]

If you were given a choice between electronics, toys, and the outside as a kid, which one did you choose to go for? What were your favorites?

hmmm!! this is a hard question honestly. i'd say a mix between toys and the outside. i only really got into electronics and subsequently the internet around the age of 9-10. obviously, i would still watch youtube videos and play online games on the family computer and things of the sort, but i much preferred playing with toys and outside!

(image heavy + longer response below)

my electronic that was really mine at my early ages was really just an ipod nano with the whole nightmare before christmas soundtrack + the cover album, a few backyardigans episodes, spiderman 2 (for some reason?), and barbie and the island princess. (i actually still have this ipod! i've been looking for a charger so i can have maximum nostalgia factor looking through it). sometimes i would use leapfrog electronics! but it was usually that reading thing they had. this reading pen

i only would really get into electronics by the end of the day. i had a princess CRT TV (i recently had to sell it) and i would watch so many movies and dvds on it to bed. for a while, i wasn't able to sleep without something on. my parent's tried to ween me off that later on because it was definitely not good for me when it came to sleepovers or staying over at family's house.

later on when i did get a wii i got really into that, but my parents would only let me play the wii if i had gone outside that day! it was helpful in hindsight but was annoying at the moment. my favorite games were spongebob squigglepants, just dance (not sure which specific number), mario party 8, cooking mama cook off, and muuuuch more

i also had a ds i got around ~2012 maybe? that i would really only use on roadtrips because of how portable it was. or if i hid it under my pillow and opened it up late at night to play style savvy. ah those were the times

some of my favorite toys were ones that i could bring outside! i have a pretty vivid memory of bringing out one of those elefun toys and making a mess of my driveway. i was a sucker for board games too. i loved ants in the (square)pants, the spongebob game, and also other things like break the ice and cranium

i can't think of many actual outside toys i had. really when i wanted to play outside i would just grab a ton and put them on the porch/driveway and go wild. i remember i used to play with toys outside inside of this spongebob tent i had. it was my own personal place!

i lived near a park most of my life, and that definitely helped with my ability to go outside and have fun. unfortunately, nowadays, i dont go outside as much. i'm trying to get better at it!

this was a wonderful ask!! thank you so much

[thecrtbimbo]

Starting off strong with something I'm very lucky to own! This is one of the many, many branded CRT televisions that trickled out from the late 90s to the early 2010s.

🎶Isn't she looovely... isn't she wonderful! 🎶

This one specifically was manufactured in March of 2012. Surprising, considering that by that point, most people had long made the switch to HD flatscreens. My guess is that this was one of the very last ones, if not the last one they ever made.

This CRT is themed around Beauty and the Beast, which might sound odd at first, considering that the film released 21 years prior, until you remember that it actually got a theatrical re-release in 2011! This would certainly explain the March 2012 date on the TV. There might have been another one or two after this, but like I said, it's pretty likely that this was the last one. This picture isn't mine btw, I found it on an eBay listing that sold who knows how long ago. It also shows off the matching DVD player (with ADORABLE wand remote) and tiara that would have clipped to the top of the unit.

I love just about everything about this TV. The gorgeous gem buttons, the hearts on the sides where the speakers are, the remote with a little mickey head on it..

And, I mean, come on. It's pink for god's sake. What more could you want?

It's almost perfect.. aside from the fact that the screen has this weird, green tinge to it that never really seems to go away, even after letting it warm up. It's only really noticeable when dark colors are on screen, though, so it's not too bad.

Tuned to a black and white channel for maximum green.

Other than that, it's a pretty stock-standard CRT. AV ports on the back and sides (but not the front like most others, for some reason) and coax for all of your cable-y needs, and the previous owner was even kind enough to leave some filth on it for me. What a champ!

But yeah, that's about it for this one until next time. Take care of yourselves. I'll be watching Bluey in style like a god-damn princess.

[crumb]

CREATIONS FROM EVERY MONTH OF 2023

Post your favorite and most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months) Tagged by: @pascow & @dhawanmasters—Thank you both!!! <3 Can't believe I didn't start making gifsets for the first time in years until like May 🙈 Those earlier gifsets are a little rough! lol. It was also really hard to choose favourites because some of the months I made like 3+ gifsets a week. 😅 APRIL

MOST POPULAR & FAVE: Vincent Sinclair from House of Wax (2005) — Art

MAY

MOST POPULAR: 100 Bloody Acres (2012) FAVOURITE: Damon Herriman as Buddy | Quarry 1x1

JUNE

MOST POPULAR: Bill Moseley in Nightmare Angel (1986) FAVOURITE: Mr Inbetween 2x2

JULY

MOST POPULAR: The Sinclairs | House of Wax (2005) FAVOURITE: Benedict Hardie in Upgrade (2018) Dir. Leigh Whannell

AUGUST

MOST POPULAR: Lake Mungo (2008) Dir. Joel Anderson FAVOURITE: Damon Herriman in Music Videos

SEPTEMBER

MOST POPULAR: Dude Bro Party Massacre III (2015) FAVOURITE: Captives (1994) dir. Angela Pope

OCTOBER

MOST POPULAR: Hell House LLC (2015) dir. Stephen Cognetti FAVOURITE: Leigh Whannell in THE MULE

NOVEMBER

MOST POPULAR: SAW 0.5 FAVOURITE: SAW (Stacked CRT-TVs gif edit)

DECEMBER

MOST POPULAR: THE DEVIL'S CANDY FAVOURITE: SUNDOWN

Tagging: anyone!! I feel like most people have already been tagged so if you wanna do this then take this as a tag!

[everygame]

Wizard of Wor 

Developed/Published by: Dave Nutting Associates / Midway Released: 5/06/1981 Completed: n/a Completion: Played it a bunch? Version Played: Midway Arcade Origins

The Xbox 360 marketplace is dead.

Now, I know that’s a strange way to begin an article about an arcade game from 1982, but it’s the reason why I played it. With Microsoft shuttering its Xbox 360-specific digital storefront, I was driven to pick up any games that I hadn’t made a point of picking up already, and was surprised to find a couple of things. Firstly, that the Xbox 360 was, for me, largely a system I played before ever starting writing this project, and secondly I probably had about everything I ever wanted for it, bar things that I wasn’t willing to shell out for–and in many cases, those would remain backwards compatible on Xbox One/Xbox Series, which means that if I was desperate to play them I could buy an Xbox One for probably cheaper than you can get a 360 now.

What this meant, ultimately, was that I ended up going completely off piste and buying a Kinect for $10 so I could make sure to download a bunch of “Kinect Labs” games before they became totally inaccessible, but while I was doing that I realised I was unclear if I bought anything on the backwards compatible store after the old marketplace shut down if I could get it on my Xbox, so just in case I picked up Midway Arcade Origins, which, shockingly, is the latest collection to feature some of the greatest games of all time–Defender, Robotron 2084, you know what I’m talking about–and it came out in 2012!

It seemed worth a fiver.

Now, to quickly capsule review it: it’s… barely worth a fiver. It comes from the most bare-bones era of collections, with no filters or anything (though don’t forget you can run an Xbox 360 on a CRT. I did, for years) and to be honest I’m not sure about how good the emulation actually is. I also forgot that the Xbox 360 d-pad is absolute bobbins.

But no matter. I have it now, so I thought I’d play Wizard of Wor.

Designed by Dave Nutting Associates, whom I last had a run in with discussing their version of Taito’s Western Gun in exp. 2601, Wizard of Wor is a game that made me realise that I was probably a little harsh on 1978’s Fire Truck, because this is probably only the second co-op action game ever–and it’s a shooter. I mean Dave Nutting and Tom McHugh basically made Doom here.

Well, sort of. Really, Wizard of Wor exists in the context of Berzerk, which is really the first sort of hint to what games would eventually become. Designed by Alan McNeil, himself once a Dave Nutting Associates employee, in Berzerk you run around randomly-generated screens shooting robots and trying to avoid “Evil Otto” who appears if you dally too long. There’s no much to it, but it featured a synthesised speech chip telling arcade patrons it had “detected” coins in their pocket, and was suitably different from the more restricted, focused play in Pac-Man or Galaxian.

I suspect–though look, I’m just hypothesising–that Dave Nutting Associates felt they couldn’t take an ex-employee creating a hit lying down, and decided to do them one better, with Wizard of Wor similar in some respects but with more graphics, more monsters, more design, more speech (and good lord does it never shut up–though it’s hard to actually understand compared to Berzerk) and even co-op play.

Although fondly remembered, Wizard of Wor is… clumsy–and it’s not just that player one starts on the right. Taking Bezerk’s play but crushing it into a Pac-Man like maze with large graphics mean there isn’t a ton of room for manoeuvre, and trying to move your “worrior” into position–or even just around corners–is honestly rather frustrating. Enemies move around randomly and you don’t want to walk into them, and while the game (strangely) has a “bump” mechanic where if you are “between” spaces as you move into enemies you bump back, you end up having to turn corners, head away from enemies, and only then turn around to shoot them, and it’s slow.

The trick, really, is that the game doesn’t really work unless you’re playing it in two-player. While you can accidentally kill each other, the trick is to constantly play with your back to each other meaning that, technically, you should never be caught unawares. But there’s actually another little trick to the game–it features line-of-sight on all but the weakest enemies, meaning you have to rely on an on-screen radar, making doing things like turning corners even more dangerous (and annoying), so even then you aren’t completely safe.

The goal–such as there is one–is to clear each screen and when possible kill the bonus “worluk” creatures who grant you double score on the next screen, and keep that chain going, accepting that certain screens (“The Pit” which has no walls) and rare appearances from the Wizard of Wor (who teleports around) will act as harsh skill checks for even well coordinated co-op players.

The thing about Wizard of Wor is that it’s… fine. It’s just simple enough to make you want to play it more, but it’s also just annoying enough to make you want to stop. It’s very close to something great, but it would Eugene Jarvis who would get there, taking Berzerk to the next level truly with Robotron 2084 just a year later.

Will I ever play it again? That all said, if you see this in the arcades it’ll be a jolly old time in co-op if you can find someone dedicated to trying for a high score with you.

Final Thought: A weird thing about Dave Nutting is that not only is this huge name in the early days of arcade games, he also designed the Jeep Wagoneer, so is in some respects at fault for the rise of the SUV and global warming by creating a car that literally got eleven miles to the gallon. 

Hmm. Seems bad!

Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi! You can pick up digital copies of exp., a zine featuring all-exclusive writing at my shop, or join as a supporter at just $1 a month and get articles like this a week early.

[the-glorious-evolution-fanart]

Hi! How are you doing? Quick question, what kind of music Viktor would listen to?

Hello!

An example of what Viktor would listen to: Delta Heavy - Ghost ( https://youtu.be/b4taIpALfAo ) - The way I write the entire Zaun area and his story is referencing the technology of the 90s. That's why you'll see CRT monitors, cruder robots, phone booths and so on in Becoming the Herald comic, instead of sleek futuristic Apple-like tech or pure steampunk stuff.

Bring Me The Horizon - Avalanche ( https://youtu.be/UNaYpBpRJOY) - Basically almost everything from BMTH. You'll know when you hear a song he wouldn't listen to. Viktor would be off-emo, not openly participating in the subculture but being one truly at heart, and wearing only some stuff out of that fashion.

Dubsidia - Kill humans ( https://youtu.be/sQ-Eu_ZZ1UQ ) - The name is not to be taken seriously - it's an edgy name and not how I write Viktor viewing others or humanity. This is 2012. era dubstep, things you'd associate with Zaunite music scene, just like it could be said that Zaunites listen to Metal (remember Pentakill was popular in Zaun in original lore).

For additional music, check out Celldweller, Pendulum, Space Laces, Axel Boy, even Dizzee Rascal; genres of DnB, dubstep, techno, electro, stuff like hardstyle shuffle, cybergoth-associated music.

Music like this can be asynchronous with the 90s tech but it doesn't matter, since this is a created fictional universe. Energetic music with a lot of artificial sound is what Viktor would be about, partly influenced by wider Zaunite popculture, and partly by the emo subculture. A bit of traditional Zaunite music would slip through as well, but that's for another time.

[batsplat]

Stoner had not just struggled with the tires, however, he had also had a spot of bother with a CRT bike. On the TV feed, all we saw was Stoner nearly running into the back of Danilo Petrucci on the IODA CRT machine, and then putting a rather hard move on the Italian. But there was more to it than that, Stoner explained. After Stoner had passed him going into one corner, Petrucci had outbraked the Australian and tried to go around the outside. Petrucci had then hit the limiter and Stoner had nearly run into the back of him. "He destroyed my lap," Stoner told the press, and that had prompted Stoner to make it clear to Petrucci that he was not happy with the chain of events. He had not actually touched Petrucci, he said. "I didn't push him off track. I just didn't give him a lot of room and needed him to back off and give me my space," Stoner said, before launching an attack on the CRT bikes, and the danger of the speed differential between the CRTs and the factory prototypes. After Stoner's media debrief, debate raged hotly between journalists over the wrongs and rights of the move. A part of the press - probably the majority - believed there was nothing much wrong with Stoner's move: there had been no contact, and Stoner was the faster rider by far. Another part said that though the move was on the edge of acceptability, it was not a good example to the younger riders which Stoner had been so vocal about wanting better behavior from. Race Direction more or less agreed: both Stoner and Petrucci were hauled in to have a conversation about the incident. No action was taken against either rider, but the very fact that they were hauled up before the beak should have been enough to inform the pair to take it a little easy. From my perspective, certainly from the initial viewing, the move appeared way over the top from Stoner. His explanation of what happened prior to that incident - events that Race Direction would have seen, having access to every camera shot at the track, not just the few shown on the live feed - mitigates Stoner's behavior a little, and certainly goes a long way towards explaining it. It was certainly a lapse of judgment, however, and a move which Stoner would have been wiser not to make. The biggest problem is that at a stroke, Stoner has undone all the good he has attempted to do in improving rider safety. Any criticism he now makes of other riders will be thrown back in his face, with charges of hypocrisy. He will find it hard to be taken seriously in his criticisms in the future. The reality of the situation was summed up by several journalists after the event. Stoner is just like Mick Doohan, they said: like Doohan, Stoner really just wants the track to himself. Anyone else having the temerity to use the track is a mere irritation, impinging on what Stoner and Doohan believed was their territory. Arguing the point with them was impossible, for as one journalist pointed out, "Mick was right even when he was wrong." That self-belief, that utter conviction is what allows them to scale the giddy heights they do. There is no room for nuance, or debate, or shades of opinion in their world: if they stopped to contemplate situations, they would lose a couple of seconds a lap. What the rest of the world thinks is irrelevant: it won't make them any faster on the track, so it is not even worth thinking about. Riders are extraordinary individuals, so it is perhaps churlish to expect them to be open to the kind of reason which might persuade ordinary people.

Mugello 2012 practice (x)

[cazort]

The juxtaposition of Tumblr with a CRT monitor is surreal. I'm sure it's happened somewhere, but I ditched my last CRT monitor 2002-ish and didn't join Tumblr until 2012 so for me this is about as big a time gap as using NCSA mosaic on a smartphone.

[mediamixs]

Top 10 Analog Horror Movies

Analog horror is a unique subgenre of horror that evokes a sense of nostalgia while simultaneously instilling fear through its use of outdated technology, such as VHS tapes and CRT televisions. This style often features unsettling narratives, distorted visuals, and a pervasive atmosphere of dread. Here are ten notable analog horror films and series that exemplify this chilling genre:

V/H/S Series (2012–present) The V/H/S franchise is a cornerstone of analog horror, presenting a collection of found footage shorts that revolve around cursed videotapes. Each installment features different filmmakers, showcasing a variety of horror styles while maintaining the signature grainy aesthetic of old tapes. The series explores themes of voyeurism and the unknown, making it a staple for fans of the genre.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Often credited with popularizing the found footage style, The Blair Witch Project follows a group of filmmakers who venture into the woods to document a local legend. Their footage, presented as a documentary, captures their descent into terror as they encounter supernatural forces. The film's raw, unpolished look enhances its realism and horror.

Skinamarink (2022) This experimental horror film takes place in a dark, suburban home where two children wake up to find their parents missing. The film's use of minimal lighting and disorienting camera angles creates an unsettling atmosphere, embodying the essence of analog horror. Its narrative is fragmented, leaving viewers to piece together the mystery.

Lake Mungo (2008) Lake Mungo is a mockumentary that explores the aftermath of a young girl's drowning. The film employs a documentary format to reveal haunting secrets about the family and the supernatural events surrounding the girl's death. Its subtle scares and emotional depth make it a standout in the analog horror genre.

No Through Road (2009) This short film and web series follows a group of friends who become trapped in a loop while driving down the same road, pursued by a masked figure. The film's sound design and eerie visuals contribute to its unsettling atmosphere, making it a notable entry in the analog horror landscape.

The Backrooms (2022) Based on a popular internet creepypasta, The Backrooms explores a seemingly infinite maze of yellow-tinted rooms. The film captures the essence of analog horror through its disorienting visuals and the feeling of being trapped in a familiar yet alien environment. It plays on the fear of the unknown and the uncanny.

Amanda the Adventurer (2022) This interactive horror series features a children's show that takes a dark turn. As viewers engage with the content, they uncover disturbing secrets hidden within the episodes. The juxtaposition of childhood innocence with horror elements makes it a compelling example of analog horror.

WNUF Halloween Special (2013) This film presents itself as a 1980s television broadcast of a Halloween special, complete with commercials and local news segments. The nostalgic format combined with the eerie narrative creates a unique viewing experience that captures the essence of analog horror.

Broadcast Signal Intrusion (2021) In this film, a video archivist discovers a series of disturbing broadcast signal intrusions that may be linked to a string of disappearances. The film's exploration of lost media and the unsettling nature of the found footage aesthetic aligns it closely with analog horror themes.

Marble Hornets (2009–2014) Originally a web series, Marble Hornets is a found footage narrative inspired by the Slender Man mythos. It follows a filmmaker who uncovers disturbing footage related to a friend's disappearance. The series effectively uses the analog horror style to build tension and create a sense of dread throughout its episodes. These films and series exemplify the core elements of analog horror, utilizing outdated technology and fragmented storytelling to evoke fear and unease. Each entry contributes to the growing popularity of this subgenre, appealing to audiences who appreciate its unique blend of nostalgia and terror.