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Bob Ross And The Joy of Painting
hmccabe writes "'The Joy of Painting', the PBS show that taught many of us how to paint 'happy little trees,' is being made into a videogame. Apparently Nintendo's DS and Revolution systems, and PC computers will be seeing the title, which has been confirmed as not-an-april-fools-joke." From the article: "Hatcher himself admits to being a big Ross fan, which is partly why he wants to make games based on his work. 'I personally loved watching Bob Ross growing up and I enjoyed watching how easily he created his paintings. We want to translate that same feeling of watching the TV show into playing a Bob Ross game," he said. "Whether you are an eight-year-old child, or a 65-year-old grandma, we want anyone to be able to pick up the game to create and play to your heart's content.'"
"
This sounds very Japanese. And now we paint a happy little tree over here.
Religion for nerds. Stuff that really matters
The blobs I painted look nothing like happy trees. Maybe a happy blob, but certainly nothing tree like.
Jim
There.
But it depends on what angle they approach it with. If is some lame sandbox type game along the lines of mario paint I would just as soon pass it up. After all I already have photoshop should I want my kids to play around with paint. But if its approached more as a learning tool I.E. Bob Ross teaches to paint by example I could really get behind that for any kid that might be interested in computer graphics.
alienating people like you is proof of concept for their 'blue water' strategy
my password really is 'stinkypants'
Does the game teach you how to get Bob's wicked cracker-fro?
The category of Art Games seems sparse, but Pokemon Snap was a nice, fun change from the usual 1st-person shooter. Instead of blowing monsters away, you took photographs, with limited "film" so you couldn't just spray away.
The only real problem (apart from the general Pokemon-ness, which for some people would be a barrier) is the scoring system. I think they did as well as could be expected, but scoring seemed to be centered on a particular aesthetic, e.g. photos with a critter well centered scored higher.
I hope Joy Of Painting is as much fun. Can you imagine it as a MMPORG???
--- Attorneys Assisting Citizen-Soldiers & Families -
And if you tell anyone about this game I will cut you.
You are approaching the whole thing from the wrong side. To get a better feeling of yourself, you should adopt the following view:
The blobs you painted look exactly like happy trees. It's just the trees out there which don't look tree-like at all.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Family friendly needs to go bye bye permanently.
I agree. I mean, who wants games made for 8-year-olds?
Oh, wait...8-year-olds and their parents do.
120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
bob ross can paint my trees anytime
As a kid I watched his show and enjoyed it, but did he ever really paint anything other than happy little trees? And maybe a mountain or a lake to compliment them. Isn't he the AC/DC of the painting world?
I will only buy this if it comes with a "Theater Mode" where I can let Bob's voice lull me into a happy tree coma.
I hope they include some sort of hidden level, maybe i you just stare at the canvas for ten minutes without moving you will start to hear that 'rat-a-tat-tat' of the Victor-Charlie gunning down your position, and you will lob a tube of titanium white at the cameraman before trying to dive for cover behind one of the "happy little bushes" you've painted. (seriously though, as lame as this Could be - there's a part of me that has to see it in real life)
Too bad Bob Ross wasn't around earlier, maybe Hitler could have watched, learned, and gotten into art school, saving us all a lot of trouble.
"I can't quite get the trees... ah fuck! I vill kill everyone!"
It's sad when choosing an installation directory on your own qualifies you as an "advanced user."
It's just the trees out there which don't look tree-like at all.
Either that or they're just not very happy.
This guy's the limit!
"We want to translate that same feeling of watching the TV show into playing a Bob Ross game"
Err..mind-numbing boredom?
"Whether you are an eight-year-old child, or a 65-year-old grandma, we want anyone to be able to pick up the game to create and play to your heart's content.'"
Done.
Seriously, I can only see one hope for this game: a series of lessons on how to paint ponies.
First, consider where Bob Ross' style meets computer technology. Ross is best known for two things: painting landscapes and easily recycled phrases. Now, think about what you could do with this in a computer game: dynamically-generated landscapes ("never the same painting!"); reasonably intelligent guidance (processing...object:forest. Speak: "happy little trees". Append random advice on painting trees. Bleep bleep.); Ease-of-use (no setup, no cleanup--paint for five minutes at a time! No need to buy brushes and canvas--you've got a full professional setup already!); and finally, the Revolution's controller (select: 1/2" fan brush. Dab, dab, dab, tilt, dab, dab--whoa, a happy little tree!) Get past the obvious snark, and this game actually holds some promise.
While I doubt it'll end up being a killer game, it could very well end up being a tipping-point game for parents/casual gamers making a purchasing decision. "Hey, here's something I could see myself enjoying..." "Hey, it has Tetris, Scrabble and this painting game...looks like it could be fun!" Heck, even I'm intrigued by it--and it certainly isn't the kind of thing I'd typically consider for a video game.
There are a lot of unsolved variables in this equation, but it could turn out to be something fun, profitable and--dare I say it--revolutionary...
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Shoot most of the 8 year olds I know play GTA3 (sad but true).
But you're right. My daughter is 4 now and it's nice having kid friendly games out there.
Something tells me she would have a hard time playing Doom 3 and Battlefield 2.
(I def. won't be letting her play GTA3 type of games when she is 8 either)
I would like to point out the parent AC said Family Friendly games need to go "bye bye".
Sounds like the parent may have been forced to play one too many Sesame Street games this weekend and they're a little bitter. Isn't 'ims a widdle bitter? Yes he is!! Bye bye!
Killer app?
---space.is.the.place---
The evil Republicans, tired of Bob being funded with taxpayer money have stolen all of Bob's paint. Help Bob get his paint back! You control Bob through 27 levels of platforming fun, dodging right wing kooks, NRA members, and the religious right while collecting every color of paint under the rainbow.
For those of us who love drawing, and love drawing on the go, this will be great. Pictochat is good enough for some pretty cool stuff - considering that you're doing it on a portable game system. I hope they let you save enough of your creations - that is a major flaw of Pictochat, and from what I hear Electroplankton.
But we also need to study the teachings of Bob Ross. I.e., we don't make mistakes - we just have happy accidents. I actually spent a lot of time painting with Bob. My first few canvases were pretty bad. After I'd done about 9 or 10 (and bought some better brushes and paints) they were starting to look like actual landscapes.
....and if you tell ANYONE, I will come to your house and I will CUT you!
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
Okay, this story was my submission, so by all rights, this is my message board. See, "hmccabe writes," that's me. As such, I feel it necessary to call you out for use of the word "Ninshito." If there is no way to make a clever portmanteau, the right thing is to not try and force one. Like, if you wanted them to discontinue a project, "Nintendon't" would suffice. You could call Nintendo fans "Nintendorks", and that would be okay. However, you replaced the sylable "ten" with "shit." Why? Presumably because you wanted to work the word "shit" in somehow. However, forcing it in where it doesn't belong smacks of trying too hard, which is the antithesis of cool.
Don't get me started on people who say "Hotlanta."
The rest of you, keep it up. You're doing a great job.
H.
8-year-olds want to play the most "grown-up" thing they can get their hands on. Why do you think so many like to play GTA?
[PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
Would you be upset if I called the Revolution's funky new controller a "Nintildo", cunningly combining the words Nintendo and dildo?
Note: Not a fanboy, don't hate the Revolution, please don't hate me.
Ah, I first discovered Bob Ross when I was a little girl. I saw his awesome show on PBS, barely visible because of all the fuzz caused by non-cable TV. I liked him because he understood that you have to make noises when you paint. I used to say and still do "you gotta make the noises or it won't work". I still insist that he was coppying off of ME even though he was who he was before I was even born. He's my kind of people. I would like to have met him.
watch the bob ross episode of the boondocks, and you will realize just how crazy the guy has to be - I mean cmon, painting "happy little trees" is the highlight of his life...
Gary Larsen once drew a cartoon, not sure if it was published or not, featuring a TV with a likeness of Bob Ross, a woman, and a large tree which had fallen and crashed into the house, landing atop said woman. One of the funniest Far Sides I've seen.
I saw it in a dead-tree book I own(ed), but can't find it now. Does anyone know if there's a link to one online somewhere? Post it if you've got it...
In 1998 Maarten Ploeg and Dick Tuinder wrote a Bob Ross emulator for Amiga,s ection_id=17&record=711
the program can be seen in action here:
http://www.park.nl/park_cms/public/index.php?this
(Quicktime movie)
Just like Sony's controller is a boomerang mate!
Will there be a sequel featuring The Secret City?
IIRC Secret City was this guy who dressed like Joel Hodgson's MST3K uniform and showed you how to draw 3/4 perspective buildings, etc.
Which is what I need right about.... now.
Disclaimer: I have not ordered nor viewed these myself. Your coma-inducing mileage may vary.
The remark about "not being an April Fools joke" was great. I wonder how many hair-brained (Afro?) schemes got their PR moment in the sun just in time to be laughed off the email inbox / fax machine?
Oh man - I"m still chuckling over it.
PR: A BOB ROSS VIDEO GAME
Editor: yea right April Fool yourself.\
PR: No REALLY!
Editor: Yea Yea Yea...
PR hellday. I love it.