I’ve wanted a tattoo for as long as I can remember. Not a sleeve covering an entire arm or multiple images inked onto various parts of my body; just a single piece of art on a discreet area of skin. A tattoo with a video game reference which subtlety displays my love for the adventure genre without being too over-the-top. Nothing like Jack from Mass Effect.
The problem? I’m a complete and utter wimp. It was only four years ago that I finally worked up enough courage to get my ears pierced – and even then I fainted on the table afterwards, I’m ashamed to admit. Needles, pain and horror games don’t feature at all highly on my list of favourite things. But a very kind nomination for the Mystery Blogger Award from Retro Redress recently and being asked what tattoo I’d go for has got me thinking…
If I was brave enough, what would I go for? Here are some of the best and worst I’ve managed to find across the internet, along with a few which may manage to convince me to get inked.
The good
The gorgeous LightningEllen from LightningEllen’s Release and lovely Nathan from Hurricane thought process are the proud owners of the first two tattoos above – you can read more about their inky experiences by clicking on those links. It’s artwork like this, and as shown in the other images in this section, that make me want to pluck up the courage to go under the needle myself.
The bad
No… just no. It’s tattoos like this which put me off the whole idea and not want to bring a needle anywhere near my skin. I understand body art is a very personal thing and means something to the owner that others may just not get; but some of these are so badly designed or poorly drawn, and I feel sorry for these people who are going to be marked for the rest of their lives.
The maybe
It’s probably no surprise to most reading this that I’ve included a few Monkey-Island-inspired works here! I really like the one of Murray; it’s definitely something I could see myself opting for because it’s subtle and he’s such a great character. The last isn’t a tattoo but an absolutely beautiful image by vapidity on DeviantArt, but it would make a great piece of body art.
When Nathan took part in GameBlast17 with us last year and stayed the weekend, he almost managed to convince me to leave with him the day afterwards to get a tattoo. Who knows, when he’s back for GameBlast18 next month he may just succeed…
Reblogged this on Hurricane thought process and commented:
Haha you should definitely get one this year
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Who knows, you might finally convince me. 😉
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Some great tattoos there….you don’t want a Neo Cortex tattoo? 😀
I’ve always wanted a tattoo, but I’ve never known what to get. Not sure I’d get a video game tattoo though, really can’t think of one I’d get. Maybe a SEGA logo?
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Oh yeah… https://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/c_fill,g_faces,w_1100/fl_lossy,pg_1,q_auto/rapw3wmmml7o9xf99dct.jpg
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That’s actually pretty awesome, maybe a smaller version might work!
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Do it do it do it do it do it
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Nah – I only have enough money for the weekly shop. I’ll get killed if I return home with no food and a shiny blue Sega tattoo!
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Love the 3 headed monkey one! My top tips for ending up with a great tattoo are A: don’t make it small just because it seems less scary, a lot of people regret getting really small tattoos eventually because often slightly bigger ones look better in the space. B: Thoroughly research your artist, make sure that not only do they do the type of thing you want, but also that you like them! Might sound obvious but if you’re comfortable with them you’ll be less nervous! My first tattoo was something from Final Fantasy VII, still love it now! This has reminded me of some ideas I’d been planning, I really must try and save up enough cash for them!
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It’s the pain factor that puts me off getting a tattoo more than anything else! If I could guarantee I wouldn’t freak out or even pass out, I’d book an appointment right away. 😉
I get what you said about finding the right artist though. It might be worth accompanying Nathan when he goes to one of the tattoo conversations, so I can have a few conversations and see if it puts my mind at rest…
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Yeah totally, the pain thing is different for everyone but I think actually asking a pro can definitely be reassuring (as opposed to asking the internet…)
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I’ve asked several people and the answers I’ve been given about pain are so varied – from ‘it’s a slight scratch’ to ‘it’s painful but I enjoy it’. If only there was a way to test how it felt without committing to entire tattoo first!
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When I went for my first one the artist took a few seconds to do a ‘dry run’ to see how I reacted, so you might be able to get something like that.
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I didn’t realise that was something you could actually do. It might be worth a try… 🤔
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Totally with you on this, I’ve been trying to pluck up the courage for 20 years. I didn’t rebel as a teenager, so I missed out! My wife has several tattoos from her teens, just because she could.
I’ve been toying with the idea for a while about getting the “vault symbol” from Borderlands, it is super simple and there’s loads of examples out there. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=borderlands+vault+tattoo
It would either be that, or Vault Boy from Fallout. Some pixel art would make a really cool tattoo though!
Do ittttttttttttttttt.
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I’ll do it if you do it. Rezzed ‘after-party’. 😂
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Hahaha WE ARE WIMPS.
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Ha ha ha I’m not going to deny it! If someone could guarantee it wouldn’t hurt, I’ll book our appointments. 😉
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My wife is a complete wimp so it can’t hurt that much, or she wouldn’t have so many of them! I might save it for my midlife crisis, which I think has already started lol
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I’m not that many years away from midlife… maybe I can start my crisis a bit early and get a Murray tattoo? 🤔
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I’ve always wanted the Bioshock “chain” one, but I don’t think my wife would be happy about it! The Guybrush one is brilliant, but I think it would become less well defined over time.
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Didn’t think of that; very good point. Maybe something with less sharp edges would be better… I have to say I’m pretty tempted by a Murray the skull.
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So long as it’s clear who it is rather than just looking like a generic skull.
I can see why I shouldn’t have one really, I’d probably overthink what I’m getting and never get one anyway!
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Thanks for featuring my ink! I took my time and did lots of research into tattoos and artists before taking the plunge. I recommend anyone interested in getting a tattoo think about it very carefully. The artist you choose is kind of a big deal, haha.
I have a fear of getting any piercings (my ears aren’t even) but I have no issues with getting inked, apparently. 😛 The tattoo process feels like a sunburn in most areas, but I wanted to scream a bit during the tricep parts on mine, not gonna lie.
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I thought that arm looked familiar 😀
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I might see if I can get a ‘dry run’ like pix1001 suggested above. I think I’d feel a lot better about getting a tattoo if I knew what it was going to feel like before going into it…
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Later this year, once I’ve slimmed down some more, I’m having this done in black on my back, not just because of my love for the series but also because the symbols in it have ad deeper meaning for me.
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Good luck! You’ll have to share plenty of photographs once it has been done. 🙂
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I’ll record it, that way, if you ever need some audio of someone swearing like a sailor in two languages, you’ll have something perfect for the occasion.
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Perfect. 😉
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I got my first tattoo last year for my birthday. I got Espeon and I’m planning on getting Umbreon this year also for my birthday. I love my tattoo artist! She got all the elements of what I wanted! I wanted Espeon in a somewhat derpy pose, some crystals, a heart and (bonus) galaxy background. It did take me a long time to decide what I wanted but I’m happy with what I got and you shouldn’t rush either! I still admire my tattoo when I see myself in the mirror haha 😀
One thing though, is that some people have told me that the outlining hurt most and others have told me coloring hurt most. I believed that coloring wouldn’t hurt as much but man was I wrong.
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Oh no… was it really painful? Damn myself for being such a wimp ha ha ha!
The more comments left on the post, the more I find myself leaning towards a tattoo of Murray the skull. It would just be an outline so therefore shouldn’t take as long to do… I hope… 😨
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It wasn’t too painful! It wasn’t painful enough to stop me from wanting more haha. Everyone seems to be encouraging you to get one and I think so too!
My friend who has been to multiple tattoo artists said that usually female tattooists have a more gentle hand, so maybe you can take that into consideration too!
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Oh really? I’d never heard that before but it sounds like good advice, so thank you!
I must admit, after reading everyone’s comments I’m extremely tempted… 😀
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