Video Game Art: 8-Bit Fatalities
Before Mortal Kombat hit the mainstream, popular video games on the consoles were, for the most part, tame. Sure, there was a few titles that depicted blood and violence, but a lot of them were just made to just glorify the brutality of life, and didn’t really focus on gameplay. Today, gaming sings to a different tune. The industry recognized that not only do adults play games, but you can make them violent and include deep gameplay.
TastyPaints on flickr was heavily inspired by Mortal Kombat and how it changed the landscape of the video game world. He decided to create some artwork with some of our favorite innocent video game stars from our childhood, but added some realistic and gruesome violence, to the mix.
The pictures borrow elements from certain retro games, but add an adult theme to the mix. Take the Kirby picture above, for example. We all know he is a lovable fat pink monster. However when he sucks up his enemies, you really didn’t think it was a bloody mess, did you? Nintendo just censors his antics, to make him seem harmless.
After the jump, check out some more work done by the brilliant TastyPaints.
(Super Mario Bros.)
(Pac-Man)
(Final Fantasy)
(Dig Dug)
(Kid Icarus)
(Thanks Rich)
