The film The Thing, much like its eponymous antagonist from outer space, is able to take on different forms—and not just as a Blu-ray Disc. In fact, John Carpenter’s 1982 film was a cinematic take on Who Goes There?, a science fiction novella by John W. Campbell, Jr. Freelance video game artist Paul Conway’s 8-bit take on Carpenter’s classic film, below, is then not only some sweet LucasArts-style artwork, but also an excellent way to serve the film’s tradition of taking on new forms.
Here’s the final version of my LucasArts style #TheThing #adventuregame mockup. This was a lot of fun to work on. #pixelart #gamedev. pic.twitter.com/XuehQNZH2w
— Paul Conway (@DoomCube) May 30, 2017
Conway’s mash-up of Carpenter’s classic film with the iconic LucasArts video-game style was posted to Twitter, as well as Reddit, and quickly spread like some kind of… thing. On Reddit Conway noted that “[He] had a lot of fun imagining The Thing as an adventure game,” and that he mainly uses Photoshop for all of his work. And in one of his tweets, he revealed the process of developing the artwork, from initial sketch to final design.
Here’s the work in progress animation of my LucasArts style #TheThing mock up. #pixelart #gameart #wipwednesday pic.twitter.com/Fi7ZHUSKuX
— Paul Conway (@DoomCube) May 31, 2017
The scene he’s duplicated in LucasArts pixelation (which refers to LucasArts video games like Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade from 1989) is one of the most memorable from the film, in which MacReady, played by Kurt Russel, and the others trapped in Outpost 31, have their blood tested with a hot wire to see who’s been assimilated by the Thing. The suspense in that scene is palpable, and unless you’re as cold as a dead body buried in the Antarctic snow, it probably makes you want to GET UP OFF YOUR FREAKIN’ COUCH.
Image: Universal Pictures
It seems that Conway hasn’t considered the idea of a full-blown video game version of The Thing, but if you’re in love with the style, and need to up the video game creep factor in your life, you can check out The Darkside Detective; it’s a darkly comedic video game Conway’s made with the same aesthetics, and also some excellent Stranger Things-style music.
What do you think about this artistic take on The Thing? Let yourself loose in the comments below!
Images: Twitter / Paul Conway
