DIGITISER
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ

GAMING ICONS: THEN AND NOW

7/7/2015

5 Comments

 
Picture
We believe it was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who said that we are naught but gusts of fart-wind from the bum-passage of time. 

Frankly, we all change as we get older - getting fatter, or thinner, more wrinkled, and greyer, and dead-er. Unfortunately, few of us are video game characters, who, through the benefit of being fictional creations, are subject only to the whims of pop cultural tastes and improvements in gaming technology. 

With this in mind, we present five of gaming's biggest icons, and examine in ghastly detail how they have changed between their first appearances and today.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Picture
THEN - 1991
Picture
NOW
THEN: Sonic was cute, a Mickey Mouse-esque corporate mascot of a challenger to Nintendo's Mario. His cuddly little pot belly and cheeky grin displayed scant evidence of the "attitude" that Sega insisted he had. Also, look at his right arm: it appears to be a solid tube of rubber, more elastic tentacle than bone and tendon. Lastly, those oversized shoes look like slippers - we struggle to conceive how he could walk in them, let alone run at supersonic speeds. 

NOW: Sonic has slimmed down significantly since getting older: he's a good three feet taller than he was, his bulbous, swollen head no longer larger than his body. The pot belly is gone, replaced by a taut torso. Also, he now appears to be wearing coloured contact lenses, and a trendy neck scarf, of the type favoured by awful people and 1980s German exchange students. His spikes are more wayward, less defined (or deliberately tousselled for a 'fresh-out-of-bed' look). He's clearly a teenager: he's got bandages on his ankles to hide the self-harm scratches.
LARA CROFT (TOMB RAIDER)
Picture
THEN - 1996
Picture
NOW
THEN: Improbably proportioned, a male-designed fantasy vision of 'girl power' - a tiny waist (a look only achievable by having a few ribs removed), gravity-defying breasts, pouty lips, and microscopic hot pants. Lara's hideous, blank-faced approximation of femininity even became a cover star of The Face and Loaded. 

NOW: More realistically proportioned, Lara's dropped a few bra sizes in the intervening years, and learned that a pair of cargo pants are far more practical attire for scrabbling around in tombs. She hasn't lost her pout, but her adventures are at least now scripted by a woman... so we are no longer allowed to question the psychological subtext of an interactive adventure in which a young, beautiful woman gets beaten up, repeatedly killed, and psychologically tortured by men. 
MARIO
Picture
THEN - 1981
Picture
NOW
THEN: Originally named Jumpman - for he was a man who jumped - Mario's hat and dungarees were already there from the beginning (although, fascinatingly, he originally wore red dungarees with a blue sweater). Techincal limitations meant that he was yet to don his trademark white gloves, and his footwear and hair were the same blue shade as his undershirt.

NOW: Mario has changed very little in the intervening years, short of becoming more photorealistic, thanks to advances in gaming tech. We can now see clearly that he has light brown hair, though his upwardly-waxed moustache is a deep, inky black. Still described as an Italian plumber, we speculate as to how recently he last unblocked a Neapolitan toilet. 
GERALDO of REVERA (THE WITCHER SERIES)
Picture
THEN - 2007
Picture
NOW
THEN: The Witcher's protagonist was a goofy-looking sort, with his Roman nose, pursed lips, and dead-eyed stare. And with that lank, platinum-blonde hair, he's clearly something of a Lucius Malfoy fanboy. For pity's sake... THEY'RE CHILDREN'S BOOKS!!!

NOW: Wisely, Gestalt has grown a beard to hide much of his funny-looking face, and the streaks of grey now showing in his hair suggest that he was bleaching it before. What a massive twat he is.
MASTER CHIEF (HALO SERIES)
Picture
THEN - 2001
Picture
NOW
THEN: Master Chief's look has remained remarkably constant. His initial, slightly out-of-focus armour can be attributed to the limitations of the Xbox, rather than any sartorial choice, or our progressive cataracts. Nevertheless, his outfit was certainly a brighter shade of green in those early days, suggesting he was more at home camouflaging himself in ball ponds, rather than jungle combat situations.

NOW: We've no idea whether Master Chief's Spartan armour is some sort of exoskeleton, or life-support system, or just that bulky because it looks sort of cool. Regardless, his faceplate has clearly been given a buff with some Brasso, given how shiny it has become. Perhaps it's a tactical attempt to blind his opponents.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
  • 10 SHAMELESS VIDEO GAME RIP-OFFS
  • 10 OFF-THE MARK CONSOLE CONCEPTS
  • 10 VINTAGE VIDEO GAME BOARD GAMES - from MB GAMES


5 Comments
Simon
7/7/2015 05:36:26 am

Oh man, oh man....."He's clearly a teenager: he's got bandages on his ankles to hide the self-harm scratches."

I laughed but someone will get upset by that!

Reply
kelvingreen link
7/7/2015 12:21:36 pm

The question is, why did Mario change his name and start wearing gloves? What has he got to hide?

Reply
Jon
7/7/2015 02:31:06 pm

How about Link? That dude has been through some serious look changes. Any logical chronology there? Can't be arsed to work it out. Can YOU?

Reply
kelvingreen link
7/7/2015 02:37:19 pm

Well in fairness, one or two instances aside it's a different Link in each game, so it's not implausible that he'd look different.

Reply
PS1Snake
9/7/2015 08:47:28 pm

I can't say that I'm a fan of Master Chief's redesigned SPARTAN armour.
Looks like he's wearing a military tank.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    This section will not be visible in live published website. Below are your current settings:


    Current Number Of Columns are = 2

    Expand Posts Area =

    Gap/Space Between Posts = 12px

    Blog Post Style = card

    Use of custom card colors instead of default colors = 1

    Blog Post Card Background Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Shadow Color = current color

    Blog Post Card Border Color = current color

    Publish the website and visit your blog page to see the results

    Picture
    Support Me on Ko-fi
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    RSS Feed Widget
    Picture

    Picture
    Tweets by @mrbiffo
    Picture
    Follow us on The Facebook

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    May 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014


    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • MAIN PAGE
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Game Reviews
  • FAQ