We play video games every day. Thousands of words are spent across the internet each hour discussing the merits of this franchise, or that DLC. But how many of us take even a moment to speak in reverent tones of the one thing that makes all of this possible: The humble pixel?
Blinking on and off in screens across the world as if to say “Hey buddy, hope you’re having a good time,” never asking anything except a few milliwatts of electricity and for you to glance its way every so often. But one very special pixel will be traveling to Las Vegas this weekend, and he’s ready to go from being one small part of an incredibly complicated electronic system to the center of attention.
That pixel is Pip.
Proud resident of the Pixel Kingdom, Pip is the only pixel ready to stand up to the Skeleton Queen when she begins her brutal assault on his homeland. Pip’s not just any pixel, though: Through the magic of the Bitstream he can absorb pixels from defeated foes to transform into more advanced versions of himself—as well as use his pixel power to solve puzzles and destroy enemies.
Which is all kind of dark, when you think about it. I mean, pixels are clearly the building blocks of life in this theoretical world—a point driven home by the fact that your protagonist’s most basic state is a single one—and after destroying other creatures you can absorb their very essence and repurpose it to your own ends? You are an electronic Shiva; a vengeful and merciful god, with the ability to create life even as you destroy it. But perhaps more importantly you can level up into a guy with a sword, which is pretty neat.
Before you drift off into a hedonistic haze imagining yourself as this tiny unstoppable force, write down the following: “Go play Adventures of Pip at the PlayStation Experience.” It’ll be there, with buckets and buckets of pixels ready for you to toss about (virtually).
Can’t make it to Las Vegas? Don’t worry. Plenty of Pip’s pixel compatriots are ready to stream the action to you over Twitch, so just point yourself to http://twitch.tv/playstation when December 6th and 7th roll around. And when you’re done, maybe give Pip and his billions of friends a quick “thanks.” They do a lot for us, after all, and they’re always watching.
