Images: An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
How do you top the 8-bit graphics of old? Can you? Aspiring coders give it a shot, in a contest that honors the aesthetics of the past.
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
In the Retro Redux contest, teams of aspiring developers had 24 hours to develop a game for the Atari Flashback system, an update of the old 2600 console. At right is the title page for a game designed by students from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The game's central character is a vengeful princess irked by a sexist video game culture.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
The designers of this game, who called themselves team Flashsmack, were riffing on the fact that in games of the past, the princess was often a helpless victim waiting to be saved. In their entry, the player controls the princess, who wants to take revenge on the old games.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
A member of team Flashsmack, working on the princess game.
Credit: Marty Heitner
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
In this game, an angry bull tries to escape from Pamplona, with his eye on eventual refuge in France.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
A scene from the game in which a bull downs Spaniards. The group that designed this game, students from from the School of Visual Arts, called themselves the Pixel Pirates for the purposes of the contest.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
The Pixel Pirates, creators of "Bull Run!"
Credit: Marty Heitner
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
The title page for "Piranha!!", another entry.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
In this game, a school of piranha hunt for human treats.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
Members of team Superfriends, creators of the piranha game, with Katie Salen, Parsons MFA design and technology director.
Credit: Marty Heitner
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
In this entry, ninjas battle each other in a blossom-strewn cherry grove. Designed by a team that called itself Club Awesome, the game took top honors in the Retro Redux competition.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
The winning game's title page.
Credit: Parsons School of Design
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
Members of Club Awesome, creators of "Ninja Garden."
Credit: Marty Heitner
An angry Atari princess, bull and ninjas
Members of team G Bunch, another group of aspiring designers.
Credit: Marty Heitner
