I cannot recall exactly, but I reckon that I've seen some bizarre looking pictures, often consists of random clips and filled with high saturation magenta mauve and indigo blue. I thought it was created after someone got drunk or just meaningless glitch. I don't know since when, the image of that vague memory has become vogue, and it's called vaporwave.
It was an extraordinary ordinary afternoon, I felt a bit depressed for no reason. My friend sent me a link to an albume, he said, "Hey, you gotta listen to this, it's miracle." I turned to him again after a few minutes, "What's that? I need more." "Vaporwave!" he replied. Can't believe I spent almost all the rest hours digging about the new word on the Internet that day.
Even today, I couldn't tell exactly what vaporwave is. But it's so charming and addictive, maybe because its nature of rebellion against the mainstream and consumerism, since it was born on the Internet. And I'm old enough for nostalgia or something...
Amazingly, the vaporwave aesthetic agrees with deconstructivism (deconstruction) philosophically, which deconstructs traditional structures, then reconstitutes pieces into new stuff. Everything is both familiar yet different.
What makes me curious is since the art style was entirely born on the Internet, how has the wave influenced video games? Especially considering video game is a perfect container of auditories, visuals and concrete/abstract structures.
Video games are getting closer to reality, why do I feel more and more boring about that. I miss the games that came out between late 1990s and early 2000s so much, when 3D was still the most frequently rated word, there were so much possibilities, and new technologies were still attractive to peoples. Developers were not afraid of making mistakes or frustrating players. Even the smell of new unpackaged hardwares and softwares was so intoxicating at that time.
Surprisingly, there are quite a number of pioneer developers who have involved in introducing the vaporwave aesthetic to video games. Here are some vaporwave games I found:
Broken Reality
A humorous adventure set in a 3D parody of the internet. Diverse puzzles, beautiful worlds, friends, experiences, upgrades and more, await those who 'log on'!
Griptape Backbone
A relaxing meditative and Zen like first person vaporwave skateboarding game. An interactive mixtape.
Hyper Bullet
Hyper Bullet is a top-down action game replenished with agreeable vaporwave aesthetics, pure joy of combat and gunplay rhythm.
No doubt I made this game.
Hypnospace Outlaw
Greetings Enforcer, and thank you for enlisting in the Hypnospace Patrol Department! As the world falls into its slumber, Hypnospace becomes a bustling global village. These virtual streets aren't going to police themselves!
PUSS!
Insane, absurd and intense avoid-'em up game about a cat!
Rampage Miami
Find yourself diving into a retro-futuristic city infested with bad guys!
Retrowave
Neon lights, palm trees, synthwave, '80s supercars speeding down an endless highway... Welcome to the world of Retrowave!
Slipstream
Arcade-style racing game inspired by the spirit of the early 90s, with drifting mechanics and exotic tracks.
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