LJN Video Art
| This article was copied (instead of imported) from the now-deleted Crappy Games Wiki. |
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 If you're like Des, you wanted an NES
But then his mama, she hit her head And so she bought this junk instead. | ||||||||||
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The LJN Video Art was an "educational" console manufactured by LJN. It wasn't meant to compete against the Nintendo Entertainment System or Master System: rather, it was supposed to be an alternative to television. It was launched in 1987 with a two-year market presence of mostly negative critical reviews but sharing retail prestige among hit toys. It was discontinued in late 1989 at a heavy price drop, as ultimately a commercial failure. It is LJN's only video game console, and only nine games were made for it. Very little information about it survives, not even the retail price or sale statistics.
Gameplay
Core functionality is similar to basic personal computer paint programs. There are two main inputs on the system's controller—a joystick controlling a cursor to draw lines and curves, and a slider to select up to 16 colors. Turning on the system without a cartridge inserted gives a blank screen for drawing. The library is based on themed coloring books. Animations can be made by creating a series of drawings and recording a slide show to a VCR. Video Art Activity Cartridge is included, with several outline drawings that can be colored.
Why You're Not Smart If You Got Video Art
The Console
- It uses a twin-lead TV connector consisting of two U-shaped prongs that were supposed to screw onto two terminals on the top of the TV. Why this was used when it had not been common on televisions since the adoption of the RF connector in the 1970s is unclear: That's like shipping a modern PC that only has a floppy disk drive.
- False advertising: The box art and commercials show pictures of artwork that could not possibly have been drawn using the console unless you have professional skills. Below this is a box claiming that it offers “Hours of creative fun for the entire family!”, which is only true if the drive to the store to get a refund is very long.
- The system lacks sound but still makes horrible static noises (also known as white noise) coming from the television while it is running.
- The joystick does not self-center, moves stiffly, has far too much travel to be able to draw with any reasonable precision, and makes a grating squeaking sound whenever it moves. It also has a limited number of directions it recognizes as opposed to being analog and requires pressing down on a very large button atop the long, thin joystick to draw, which makes it even harder to control.
- The two erase buttons, image change buttons, and background color change buttons are placed on the console itself, not on the controller. The two buttons for erasing appear to be because pressing both at once clears the canvas.
- It is only a video game console at the most technical level, as the only thing it can run is a piece of drawing software.
- The system can only run a single program, which is preloaded onto it. The "cartridge" holds nothing but a set of pre-drawn wireframe images to color.
The Software
- It's a paint program similar to period drawing programs such as MacPaint, Paintbrush Microsoft/MS Paint, and Deluxe Paint, but vastly more primitive.
- Very little content. There are only the simplest tools imaginable, no brush options, and a limited color palette including 16 colors that are selected using a slider at the top of the controller.
- The console will either load from a ROM cartridge with a set of wireframe images that can be cycled through and colored in or, if no cartridge is inserted, it will load up with a blank canvas.
- The program itself offers about as many activities as a children's coloring book or an Etch A Sketch toy, both of which are cheaper, easier to use, and portable.
- There are only four drawing tools: the two buttons on the controller which lock it to draw vertical or horizontal lines, the eraser (which can only erase either one pixel at a time or the entire canvas), and the background color change tool.
- The program doesn't have a fill tool. The AVGN compared it negatively to Color a Dinosaur, infamous in its own right, but at least has a paint bucket.
- Just to round things off, there is no ability to save drawings!
- You can't even draw a perfect circle, spiral, or stick person no matter how hard you will try; the circle will always come out square-ish.
Smartdeeming Qualities
- The commercial, while showing false advertising, does at least have a catchy tune.
- The already made drawings look well done.
Trivia
- The console likely has MOS 6502 as its microprocessor.
- It is known that LJN released at least eight additional cartridges with different pre-drawn image sets on them, but they are incredibly rare.
Reception
 "What were they thinking?"
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As noted above, there is very little information about the Video Art from the period when it was actually on sale aside from a few commercials, but from its utter obscurity, it can be surmised that it did not do well, and it is known to have been discontinued soon after launch. The extreme scarcity of the additional ROM cartridges for the system suggests that people who did buy it were not particularly enthralled by it.
It became more widely known when it dethroned the R-Zone as the worst console the Angry Video Game Nerd ever played, when he reviewed it during his 12 Days of Shitsmas series on December 22nd, 2014. Many collectors consider it to be the worst console of all time.
Videos
Commercial of LJN Video Art |
The Angry Video Game Nerd's review |
Gamester81's review
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Comments
- AVGN Shit Scale Major Code Red
- Consoles
- The Angry Video Game Nerd episodes
- Twelve Days of Shitsmas
- Overpriced
- Games that don't qualify as games
- Edutainment games
- 1980s games
- Misleading in gaming
- Candidates for the worst game of all time
- Featured on TV Tropes' So Bad, It's Horrible
- Consoles with terrible commercials
- Gimmicks in gaming
- LJN games
- LJN products
- Bad media
- Obscure games