i am 8-bit doesn’t know the code.

April 25, 2006 Off By Tommy Gun

iam8bit.jpgI recently bought the i am 8-bit book and I really like it. However, I noticed some of the pieces contain an attempt at the Konami Code. I say attempt because none of them is correct.

From the book:

Page 78: “Putting the Super in Mario”
Piece: Painting of Mario with Peach naked on a bed. Mario has the code written on his hand. The facing page has the title screen to Contra (dialogue: “Bro, that wop plumber jacked our moves.”), so it’s clearly supposed to be the code.
Code: U U D D L R B A start – Close, but missing the second L R. It’s not even because there wasn’t enough space, he could have put it right above the B A.
Page 111: “Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, A, B, Select, Start”
Piece: Painting of a nude woman with many video game tattoos. Code is only in the title.
Code: In the title. Again, it’s close enough that it’s clear it’s supposed to be the Konami code, but it’s actually way off.

From the second exhibit (no book yet, just photos online):

Title: “The Many Different Stages in the Doldrums and their Constant Battles with Eternal Life”
Piece: Painting with a Contra theme. Shown is the Konami logo, Bill and Lance, and a “.Com” in the style of the Contra logo. The code is written on the right.
Code: U D U D L R L R A B A B select start – Contra themed art, and it’s way off.

I’m aware that there are some variations of the code, but those usually involve switching B and A to other buttons (like X and O) to adapt it to a different controller. Some change the directions, like turning your controller upside-down and entering it, but the beginning is still always “same same opposite opposite,” if you know what I mean. I also imagine some people are doing this from memory, and the code gets told differently by different people (everyone I knew thought it was select start at the end). Even so, if you’re creating a whole art piece for an exhibit, don’t you think the least you could do is google it to ensure accuracy? Even when I’m posting on a forum that two people will read, I still google names and things. Notice how I spelled “i am 8-bit” in lowercase, the way it’s written in the book?

The exhibit is supposed to conjure feelings of nostalgia, and at the end of the day with all those mangled codes, I suppose it does just that.