Ocean Software's iconic artwork creator Bob Wakelin - RIP

Neil79

Neil79

Neil79

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Rest in Peace Ocean Software's iconic artwork creator Bob Wakelin. Who sadly passed away last night :(

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Gutted, some of those games & covers were brilliant. Loved Mikie soo much.

The cover of Operation Wolf is what made me get a flat-top hair cut when I was a kid! :D
 
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Ocean was an icon of my childhood! Loved their games, and the cover art was always fantastic.
 
His cover art is unforgettable, it will forever be imprinted on my brain.
People might not get this, but his creations literally sold you the game. It was a world of imagination back in the 8bit days, Ocean found a star in Waklin to make their games more than they ever were on a 14'tv.

A sad loss to the world of those that cherish the memories.
 
Wasn’t the Gryzor artwork inspired from Predator? I remember seeing a partial piece of documentary of it being discussed?
 
Shame.. very influential. The cover to renegade / target renegade got me drawing lots of kung Fu fighters as a kid! Had the poster from target renegade on my bedroom wall for years
 
Evangelion said:
Ocean was an icon of my childhood! Loved their games, and the cover art was always fantastic.
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Same. I remember every title mentioned on this thread as I grew up with the 8 and 16-bit era. I has no idea it was one man who did all that artwork. RIP.

Gryzor on the Amstrad CPC was almost a 16-bit looking game back then. It was truly stunning. Target Renegade equalled a lot of 1v1 scraps at my mates house!
 
V F said:
Wasn’t the Gryzor artwork inspired from Predator? I remember seeing a partial piece of documentary of it being discussed?
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To quote an Exotica piece -

Never much of a fan of videogames, Wakelin remained disarmingly down-to-earth about his contribution to the medium; in a series of recollections on the retro gaming site Exotica, for example, the artist simply said of his Gryzor/Contra cover, "A Predator/Alien rip-off is what the game appeared to be, so I supplied a Predator/Alien style pic - with ripped Arnie Predator poses."
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His artwork was an unforgettable part of growing up as a gamer, and we were lucky to have someone of his calibre contributing to the industry. RIP.
 
Had so many of those game, RIP Bob

I adore the artwork from this era, both on games and VHS covers etc.

There was often some disparity between the art and the actual game or movie. As a child this could be annoying, something cool in the art didn't actually feature in the content. Now I find the whole thing so endearing. Due to the limitations of the time there was a certain air of imagination required.

Digital art has definitely lost something compared to the commissioned works of old. I am a huge fan of Fighting Fantasy game books and the fantasy artists of that era too.

One of my favourites: http://www.lesedwards.com/
 
His creative skill and talent, and what you actually got most likely led to the tiny "Actual in-game screenshot" on the back cover where dreams were pre-shattered before you loaded the game after buying it.
 
Sounds like he led an interesting lifestyle - recreational substances obviously helped to create some of the more vidid imagery. :D
 
So many memories in those games, especially snapping a Cheetah 125+ joystick when I got a bit carried away in Daley Thompson's Decathlon :D
 
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