Welcome back to Artcade, the spot where speed dating between video games and art is always on the menu. Today, we’re talking about John Travolta acting like a fool—as a movie character, of course. I can’t speak for the man’s personal life. Enjoy the read!
Quentin Tarantino (1994) Pulp fiction [Audiovisual Work] [Drama] [154 min] Lawrence Bender
Harvey Keitel plays Mr. Wolf, a supporting character in Pulp Fiction. He first appears when Vincent Vega (John Travolta) accidentally fires a gun inside his own car, killing a young man in the back seat.
Panicking, Vincent and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) rush over to Jimmie’s place (played by Quentin Tarantino himself, in one of his trademark cameos), where they argue, unsure of how to handle the situation.
Then Mr. Wolf swoops in to save the day, introducing himself with the line: “I’m Winston Wolf. I solve problems.”
He’s the one who shows them how to make all evidence of the crime vanish.
Draw Distance (2017) Serial Cleaner [Video Game] [Stealth] [5 Hours] (Nintendo Switch) [Windows, PS4/5, Xbox One/X/S, iOS] Curve Digital
In Serial Cleaner, you’re tasked with cleaning up various crime scenes. Each job comes in by phone, and they all follow a similar pattern: in these small, self-contained levels (a newspaper office, a farm, etc.), something has happened that needs to disappear.
As a rookie Mr. Wolf, we have to gather incriminating items, dispose of bodies, and mop up bloodstains, all while avoiding the police patrolling the area.
Information Desk:
Between 1994 and 1995, the screenplay for Pulp Fiction won an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a David di Donatello, and the Palme d’Or—not to mention countless other awards and nominations.
Serial Cleaner got a sequel with a suitably imaginative title: Serial Cleaners. The plural is no accident, since in this second installment, we discover the backstories of four different Mr. Wolfs. Serial Cleaners is superior in every respect, with a more fleshed-out narrative than its predecessor. Still on the fence? You can play it even if you’ve never touched the first game.
My last two coins
The first time I watched Pulp Fiction, it blew my mind—no doubt thanks to its nonlinear storytelling and freewheeling dialogue. But from a gamer’s perspective, my favorite scene is Bruce Willis choosing his weapon. How about you? Baseball bat, chainsaw, or katana?
Until the next episode, ciao!