WE know... we know... it's already time to start talking about X-mas? *Grumble* or *Celebrate!* Whichever side you're on, DBH is giving you a dozen delicious reasons to get in the spirit:
"The 12 Games of Christmas" by Retro Review Just in time for your neurotic pre-holiday shopping freakout, Retro Review (aka Matt Heald) is transforming his 12 most popular designs into kickass Christmas cards, (or Chanukah, or Kwanzaa, whatever you dig).
With a little help from Kickstarter, you, and everyone else that isn't Ebenezer Scrooge, these sweet little samples of nostalgic stationery could soon be spreading dorky holiday cheer all over the world!
For your pre-purchase perusal, we tracked down Retro Review for a little Q&A, DBH-style.
DBH: So obviously you're a gamer, what was the first game you ever played, and what's your fav video game of all time?
MH: Wow you don't pull your punches, straight to the good stuff! The first game I ever remember playing as a kid was Treasure Island Dizzy on the ZX Spectrum. I can always remember the loading screen of the 'Speccy' which sounded like R2D2 in a blender. My favorite video game is a crazy hard question to answer; it is like being asked to choose your favorite child. What I can say for sure is a big chunk of my childhood involved playing games on the Commodore Amiga. I have fond memories of playing games like Cannon Fodder, Lemmings and Moonstone to name a few.
We've seen a lot of cool holiday merch from DBH artists in the past, but this just may be a first... so why Christmas cards?
I created one of the first Christmas pixel sweater designs about 4 years ago, before the design trend picked up. Then last year I went a bit crazy and put my mind to creating a full range on gaming... My original goal was to create 12 Games of Christmas but I got a little carried away and did about 15. They were extremely popular and this year I wanted to bring them to people who didn't have the budget to give a shirt or sweater at Christmas time but still wanted to give the gift of video game nostalgia.
What made you choose a Kickstarter campaign for your Xmas Card project?
Last year I created one card to test the waters and sold it on Etsy; it did fantastically well and I knew I was on to something. This year I noticed a lot of shirt a day websites asking for Christmas Sweater designs and rather than compete with other designers I wanted to go another direction and split from the pack. I approached a shirt a day website with the idea but they were concentrating on their tried and tested market of Sweaters and Shirts. Crowdfunding was the last place I thought of looking until I saw a Kickstarter by an awesome artist called Italiux. A small lightbulb went off and I thought I would give it a shot.
Got anything in the works (new t-shirts designs, sweaters, etc.) that we should know about?
I have a sketchbook filled with shirt and design ideas but I think for the next few months I will be concentrating solely on the Kickstarter and creating even more gaming inspired Christmas designs that backers of the project can help me choose from. I am just finalizing a Donkey Kong design and already made a start on an Ice Climbers design that would both sit nicely in the range.
Alright so we've got you curious, right? Go ahead and get your early x-mas fix with a sneak peek at some of Retro Reviews "12 Games" designs:
5 Gold Rings! Don't be a Robotnik this X-mas, show your love for Sonic and Tails with the all-important ring-bling that you deserve!
Duck For Christmas What Christmas dinner would be complete without duck? Oh wait, you didn't manage to hit any? Too bad for you...
Super Christmas Bros How many of us remember our best x-mas ever as the first one that involved Mario, Luigi, extreme fits of joy, and a significant lack of sleep?
Get the skinny on the 12 Games of Christmas, and find out how you can help make retro game X-mas a reality: