While many of the athletes taking part in next month's Olympic Games have spent their whole lives training for the event, many more of us have spent our lives training for games of a different kind.
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This week, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image wants to celebrate the place where games and Games intersect, with something it's calling the Retrolympiad.
On Saturday night, July 23, ACMI will transform its Melbourne gallery space into a "pop-up arcade playground for adults", featuring games, music and visual art that blends Olympic fever with pixel nostalgia.
Epyx's singular California Games — the 1987 collection that is objectively the greatest athletic game of all time — will of course be playable at the event. It will be joined by various entries in the Track and Field and Olympic Gold series, among others.
"Retrolympiad is a new breed of late night," says ACMI Producer Emily Siddons. "Whether you have fond memories of mashing controllers to crunchy 8-bit graphics, or are a game expert, this event has you covered".
"It is about getting into the Olympic spirit, hanging out with friends, sporting fails over music, laughs and great food and drinks." Tickets are available from ACMI's website.
Games aside, the event seems to be a very Melbourne-centric affair, with a live DJ set from Midnight Juggernauts, drinks by Fitzroy's Pixel Alley and pixel artwork from Ivan Dixon (of Simpsons Pixels fame) adorning the walls.
The event, which apparently includes its own opening ceremony and has medals up for grabs, will be guided by Melbourne comedians Andy Matthews and Al Tremblay Birchall.
