Concepts are what make the gaming world go round; without concept art and ideas, we’d never have some of the handhelds and consoles that we play on today. As well as being an important part of any development process, they also spark ideas and get conversation flowing in new areas that we might not have previously considered. 3D Artist Tatyana Grebenschikova certainly understands that; she’s used her incredible artistic skills to create a concept that looks like we could reach into our screen and grab it. She’s called it the Game Boy Joy-Con Project, and it’s a beautifully designed fusion of Nintendo past and present.
Visual art in any shape or form is hard for me; I’m pretty proficient in Photoshop, but when it comes to actually creating textured renders and contemplating ‘realistic irregularities in the transparent plastic’, I wouldn’t know where to start. Tatyana has taken everything into account when creating this mock-up, from the type of use it might have received to how often or little it has been cleaned to create an image that feels realistic. The only problem now is that I want to try one out in real life!
Speaking with 80.Lv, Tatyana explains that the project was inspired by staying up all night and playing video games with her father, core memories that instilled a love of game development and design within her and the drive to pursue it as a career. The Game Boy Joy-con project itself is actually a 3D continuation of an idea created by IWSE Zhang who also designed concepts for the Family Controller Famicom-style handheld with a slide-up screen and stylus, and the Nintendo GamePancake, a GameCube controller with a central circular screen that plays GameCube games. Tatyana’s self-taught 3D modelling skills have given the project a whole new lease of life and helped to imagine how this console could become a reality – she should team up with Sean Fletcher to create new emulator skins!
Honestly, it looks like something that AYANEO might come out with, and I say that because of the joystick on the bottom. The idea is essentially that the Game Boy Advance would play Nintendo Switch games in a smaller, more portable format. As it stands, this wouldn’t work as an actual console for playing demanding games due to the lack of buttons, but it could probably stretch to emulating N64 games were it real. The main takeaway isn’t the practical application, however, but rather the impressive designing skill and the love for retro gaming that has driven Tatyana into creating such an impressive concept, and if this example of her work is anything to go by, I think we can expect big things from Tatyana in the coming years!
Head to 80.Lv to find out more about her process in bringing this 3D project to life.
