By Rob Bricken in
Merchandise, Video Games
Thursday, Feb. 4 2010 @ 2:00PM
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49 comments
Comments
MattK said:
Anyone notice the Pac-Man cameo?
Okay, maybe not CAMEO, considering it's a shirt image, but still, anyone else notice Pac-Man?
Eponymous said:
I'm having trouble seeing the one behind Master Chief... not much face to work with and I don't recognize the forearm guard design... Anyone?
Monkey boy said:
Design gets a little too busy around master chief. I didn't even see scorpion from MK at first. And whoever that skull guy is, I think he's a bit out of place among the other characters. Any of the other ones would be instantly recognizable to even the most casual fan of video games, but even as a nerd I have no idea who that guy is.
MattK replied to Monkey boy:
Okay, the "skull face guy" is Manny Calavera from Grim Fandango. Considered one of the last great adventure game of the "golden era" (which would be 1980 - 1998). Gaming nerds should have no excuse not knowing this guy.
nickshogun said:
Bad color scheme.
The Gerudo Guy said:
Love the idea around this!!!
As for the points methinks Pikachu will get 100 points, Lara 400, Link 500 maybe, Manny will get a 1000, both Master Chief and Scorpion will get a healthy 2000 and Mario gets the whole 5000 bonus.
Matt Moylan said:
Cool, though whoever the skull face guy is, he seems out of place with all these important icons.
If he was an iconic game character I figure I would recognize him...
Megiddo replied to Matt Moylan:
How can people consider themselves gamers and NOT know of Grim Fandango? It's the jewel of LucasArts for crying out loud.
Dan replied to Matt Moylan:
If you're old enough and played video games on a PC, you'd recognize him. He's Manny from an adventure game called Grim Fandango from Lucas arts back when they still made adventure games.
I would rather see Ryu from Street Fighter rather than sub zero, but Ryu doesn't look as unique as Scorpion so I could see why they did that.
Frito replied to Dan:
Kids these days don't know their gaming history. What are they even teaching in schools?
Matt Moylan replied to Frito:
I've been playing PC games since the old King's Quest & Ultima days. And before that, Commodore 64 with the Impossible Mission & such.
Put nope, no clue who this skeleton guy is. Someone like iconic like Sonic, Donkey Kong, or Ryu would have been better.
Dan replied to Matt Moylan:
You just listed off 3 characters from console gaming systems. As far as Grim Fandango goes, this game was all over the covers of every PC gaming magazine when it was announced, when it was in development, and when it came out.
If you had to choose an iconic PC character, and couldn't pick a console character, I'd have to probably go with Duke Nukem, but besides that, I'm not really sure who would be more iconic than Manny from Grim Fandango.
DoctorSmashy said:
I love this shirt! Is it availabe in England? Because I'm sick of awesome Geek Apparels of the Week being unobtainable for us Brits.
Brandon said:
I'm sad so many people here never played Grim Fandango. Great game. Cool shirt.
Kench said:
Grim Fandango and not Sonic? Or Duke Nukem maybe? Every other character on this shirt is a recognizable character due to being a titular character/mascot for a franchise. While Fandango was a freaking great game, I think he's a bit out of place.
Monkey boy said:
Okay. Sorry gaming nerds, but there is no Way in hell manny from grin fandango is even 10% as popular or recognizable or iconic as
any other character on that shirt. Say Mario, legend of zelda, halo, mortal kombat, pokemon, PAC-man, tetris, or tomb raider in a crowded from and as long as most of the people are under 40, you'd be safe in betting that just about all of them would have heard of the property/franchise. Mention grin fandango and if you expect the same amount of reconition, you're delusional.
Anonymous replied to Monkey boy:
Thank you iPhone autocorrect for making my post dang near unreadable.
Megiddo replied to Monkey boy:
You farking console junkies can't let us PC gamers have our one iconic character, will you?
Monkey boy replied to Megiddo:
I'm not talking about consoles vs PC. I'm talking about iconic status. By all accounts it's a great game and may be well known among gamers, but all the others are iconic enough that they've entered the public pop culture lexicon. Skullface not so much.
Megiddo replied to Monkey boy:
Of course Manny hasn't "entered the public pop culture lexicon". He wasn't whored out to several consoles so the mass public would recognize him.
However the PC gamers who DID play Grim Fandango will instantly recognize him. Heck, the only reason I bought this shirt was because it had Manny on it. Do you know how many other shirts there are with Master Chief, Mario, Link, Pikachu, etc? Tons. How many are there with Grim Fandango characters? Not many.
Monkey boy replied to Megiddo:
Just saying, on a shirt with so many other easily recognizable characters, he seems out of place.
ZADL said:
For me the golden age of gaming was 1978 (Space Invaders) to 1987 (Street Fighter).
Old guy (around here) replied to ZADL:
No kidding, no way 1998 was part of the golden age.
jerry said:
OK, I consider myself pretty liberal, but I am also a closet patriot. Is anyone else bothered that an icon of American triumph over oppression is used as a correlation to video games?
Monkey boy replied to jerry:
No. It's not offensive, it's simply using a well known image as a conduit for pop culture iconography. Stop being so uptight. Like the original statue, it's a piece of art, not a sacred idol.
Jerry replied to Monkey boy:
I hope their next art piece is the the World Trade Center.
Monkey boy replied to Jerry:
Not even close to the same thing. If there was a world trade center memorial, maybe you'd have a leg to stand on. But since no WTC memorial has been decided on, youreally can't compare the two. Satirizing an iconic statue that memorializes something does not equal satirizing the event itself. If you can't separate the two you might want to rethink your status as a "pretty liberal" guy.
Monkey boy replied to Jerry:
Furthermore there is the issue of time passed. Time heals all wounds, as the cliche says, and certain things lose their impact. Subverting the intent of An iconic statue that memorializes somehing that happened over 50 years ago is not nearly as jarring as doing the same to an event itself that is not even 10 years old yet. I've actually seen the very same WW 2 statue satirized numerous times, including the flag being held up by the Penn state football team to commemorate their undefeated season in the 80s. Very very few people would equate satirizing this statue with satirizing the WTC attacks.
James replied to Monkey boy:
That bring up an interesting question of how many people even know where said 'statue' came from, and what battle it was in. can we really get in trouble for it if nobody knows what it started out as? and yes, I know many of my fellow gerdks (ngeek/nerds/dorks) will know.
Monkey boy replied to James:
D'Oh. I've been saying statue this whole time, and confusing it with a memorial. For whatever reason I was under the impression there was a memorial statue based on the famous photograph, but it appears I was wrong. Anyway, I do happen to know the history of the imagery, and I still think it's a far cry from satirizing 9/11. Though it is an image of war, it commemorates a victory, and has always been an empowering image rather than one of sorrow or horror.
Kaeli said:
Came here to spread Grim Fandango love. Happy to see I'm not the only one :)
Brett said:
Manny Calaveras FTW! Seriously, Grim Fandango is a classic character from adventure gaming. Does anyone not recognize the trend?
Master Chief: First-Person Shooter
Link: action-RPG
Mario: Side-scroller
Lara Croft: 3d adventure/platformer
Scorpion: Fighting
Pikachu: Handheld
Manny Calaveras: Graphic Adventure
Pac-Man: Arcade
I'm pretty sure the shirt is supposed to have the iconic characters from some of the most iconic genres in gaming. Graphic adventure is definitely an iconic genre and Grim Fandango is probably its best and best known. What, who would rather see Leisure Suit Larry up there with Mario and Lara Croft?
Monkey boy replied to Brett:
Ok. That actually makes quite a bit of sense. Thanks for pointing that out!
jacen replied to Monkey boy:
Purple Tentacle! Purple Tentacle!
The Gerudo Guy replied to Brett:
Didn´t noticed the pattern... Nice observation!!!
tredlow replied to Brett:
I always thought the icon for adventure games is Guybrush Threepwood.
Teeks said:
Ordered it just now. I ordered the Thousand Needles shirt about a month ago. It's really cool. They print really well. Takes awhile for them to actually come in the mail though.
Kim said:
Thanks for telling me about this! I've ordered it for my husband. Hopefully, it will make it by Valentine's Day.
Hypersapien said:
The sheer numbers of so-called nerds in this thread who don't know who "the skull-faced guy" is makes me weep.
sergio37 said:
really gald that you like it guys!!!!!
i put grim fandango because it's my all time favorite, those of you that never play it, make yourself a favor and try it :D
Thank you all again :D
Sergio37
Strangeman said:
I'm surprised they didn't plant that flag right between Laura Croft's legs, or maybe that comes later. I'm pretty sure that after the flag's up, Mario's going to jump on it, and there'll be fireworks so long as the timescore is a multiple of 3.
tredlow said:
Aw yeah!! Manny Calavera ROCKS!!
Rodz said:
I know everyone has already said it, but I will say anyway: No Sonic and No Ryu (or Ken or Chun Li) ruined the idea. I'd love to see Solid Snake there too. And Megaman.
Sol said:
The funniest part of the comments is the elitist nerds who think that not knowing ONE of the characters in the design completely discounts someone as a nerd and renders their opinions invalid. Oh, internet, never change
