game over

11 Things: Game Over

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Eleven artists participating in Giant Robot's exhibition "Game Over: Art of the Gamer Generation" discuss various aspects of growing up in a video game world.

1. Rob Sato (destruction): The only game I enjoyed any success at was Dr. Mario on the original NES system. The combination of the amazing music, Tetris-like format and dancing germs created a perfection I haven't come across since. Another favorite was Rampage. Punching down buildings and helicopters inspired total glee.

2. Jesse LeDoux (nostalgia): Never having the original Nintendo as a kid, I feel like I missed the golden years of video games. I later made up for it by playing Tony Hawk until my hands were blistered and sore (not one of my prouder moments).

3. Le Merde (media): I used to do a zine in the early '90s called Root Beer that was all about video games from the Atari 2600 era up through Super Nintendo. This art show is a great way to see how other artists have been inspired by video games.

4. Aaron Martinez (fantasy): My favorite game was probably Mega Man. I often dreamed of having a space cannon on my arm and impressing the kids at school with it. Comic books, video games and cartoons all inspired me to become an artist.

5. Sean Boyles (addiction): My favorite arcade coin-op game was Street Fighter II Hyper Edition. Even while working in the studio I still take breaks for a few rounds every now and then.

6. Joe To (devotion): My favorite game growing up was definitely Super Mario Brothers. I would trek 30 to 40 minutes to the house of the one lucky kid in the neighborhood who had it, just so I could get a little play time. Inevitably, there would be five or six kids waiting in line to play.

7. GUNSHO (fascination): Video games have such a distinct imaginative sensibility. Growing up, I was always fascinated with the low-end graphics and the exercise of suspending disbelief when controlling a blocky little character bouncing around on a screen. That little eight-bit character was a digitally diluted avatar of something greater.

8. William Buzzell (culture): For better or worse, video games have become a shared experience for a generation, one that transcends race, geography and, to a large extent, class.

9. Snaggs (colors): Video games have been a huge inspiration, especially the bright, bold colors. Probably the biggest influences were Paper Mario and Zelda for the DS. Such simple, yet incredibly effective, designs.

10. Matt Furie (memories): I did some drawings about Super Mario 2. I can still remember most of the levels. I particularly enjoyed riding the carpet and going into the mouth of the hawk after killing a boss.

11. David Horvath (love): I grew up on the Super Famicom and Japanese game imports. Giant Robot doesn't sell video games, but the goods and general vibe there capture what I felt on the inside (and still do) while living through the best of my more nerdy gamer days.

"Game Over": 6:30-10 p.m. Sat. Through Oct. 29. Giant Robot, 618 Shrader St., San Francisco. (415) 876-4773. www.gr-sf.com.

- Tim Sullivan, tsullivan@sfchronicle.com

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/09/NS9513C8UP.DTL

This article appeared on page G - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle