The art world has had its share of influential creatives. Few have captured the cultural zeitgeist quite like Bob Ross. His soothing voice and awesome afro have made him an icon of public broadcasting with his show “The Joy of Painting.” He created serene outdoor landscapes with a few strokes of a brush, demonstrating that anyone could paint, and that they didn’t need to be “blessed by Michelangelo” in order to do it.
Several video games demonstrate this same ideology. They capture Bob Ross’s passion for creativity and nature, as well as embody his life philosophies that he imparted through his programming. Here are a few games that any fan of Bob Ross would paint a happy little tree over.
8 The Search Asks Why People Create
The Search is a Myst-like point-and-click adventure game where the protagonist explores a surreal landscape and solves basic puzzles. In order to progress through the game’s environments, canvases must be stretched across obstructed doorways and painted on to create an image of a cleared path.
On the journey, notes are scattered around the environment from a cryptic stranger, touching on the ideas of such thinkers as Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung on the reasons we create. They encourage listening to one’s inner voice that calls them to make something. Bob Ross always encouraged his viewers to paint, seeking to bring out the artist in everyone.
7 Beat the Devil Out Of Demons in Okami
Okami is the definition of the term “cult classic.” It is a masterful work of art with a beautiful visual style and creative gameplay. It didn’t sell as well as Capcom had hoped when it debuted on the PlayStation 2, but they would later release it on future platforms. As the reincarnation of Amaterasu, the Japanese Sun Goddess, the mission is to combat the demon Orochi and cleanse the natural world of corruption.
One of the primary tools that Amaterasu uses is the Celestial Brush, which Amaterasu uses to, as Bob Ross would say, "beat the devil" out of her opponents. Ammy can slash foes, make bombs, and even change the time of day. It is even possibly to spawn happy little trees in combat arenas. The power of the Brush is what Bob Ross championed, and fans of his work will find this theme here.
6 Art Academy Is Like Having A Personal Bob Ross
It would be great to have a Bob Ross video game where he takes budding artists through personal tutorials for developing one’s art skills. Unfortunately, a Bob Ross game does not exist, so the next best thing is Nintendo’s Art Academy games. The virtual artist Vince introduces his students to various art materials, and demonstrates how to use them to create images that become increasingly complex.
Bob Ross’s philosophy that everyone had the potential to be an artist is the foundation for Art Academy. Anyone who has not even picked up a paintbrush can follow along. It is also possible to go back to previous steps and undo mistakes. The Art Academy series has several games across the DS, 3DS, and Wii U, including a Pokémon-themed game.
5 Minecraft’s Only Limit Is The Imagination
Why does Minecraft keep showing up on lists? That’s because it is Minecraft, and it is everywhere. Anyone who has never even used a calculator likely has heard of it, and to a degree, it earns its reputation. This colorful, blocky world can be as relaxing or as challenging as the heart desires.
The game’s creative mode provides access to all the blocks available in-game, and lets players run wild, with no fear of getting attacked by mobs. Any Bob Ross lover will appreciate this Zen approach to creativity. The only limit to what can be created is whatever the mind creates.
4 Drawn To Life Encourages Making Things Up Along The Way
Bob Ross’s tutorials were always meant as a guide. He gave the basic instructions, but he allowed room for flexibility. A painting could have as many or as few trees or mountains as desired. The 2D side scrollers of the Drawn to Life games are largely that premise.
The prompt comes to design the game’s protagonist, and along the fairly standard platforming journey, opportunities will arise to draw platforms, vehicles, health items, and weapons. While the game says that a particular item should be drawn, anything else can be included as a substitute. If tacos are preferable to hearts as health, that can be arranged. Want to draw Thor’s hammer instead of a net? That works as well. The creations are ultimately up to the person playing.
3 Walden: A Game Has Enough Happy Little Trees For Days
Anyone who knows Bob Ross knows that he loved his “happy little trees.” It was pretty much a requirement that he included at least one of them in his paintings. Usually, he would give them a friend as well.
Walden: A Game has no shortage of happy little trees. In this title, Henry David Thoreau spends a year (or two) out in his cabin at Walden Pond, maintaining it, acquiring supplies from town, and walking in the forest. The changes of the seasons are on full display, with the beautiful foliage and the diversity of wildlife. The experience can be quite cozy.
2 Alba: A Wildlife Adventure Has Plenty Of Cute Animals
Not only was Bob Ross a painter, but he also did a lot of work with animals. One common companion on his show was a little squirrel that sat in his pocket. Anyone who appreciates Bob Ross likely appreciates his love of planet Earth, and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure has plenty of cute animals running around.
While visiting the island her grandparents live on, Alba discovers that the nature reservation is going to be demolished to make room for a luxury hotel. This leads Alba on a quest to get enough petition signatures to save it by photographing the animal species that populate the island.
1 Breath Of The Wild Is A Massive Bob Ross Painting
One of the highlights of The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is its open world. Not only is it immense, but the environments are diverse. There are forests, deserts, mountains, swamps, and even a jungle.
The whole game is a massive Bob Ross painting. Many locations around the map resemble one of the environments that he himself likely would have painted. The mountains of Hyrule might remind one of those mountains he would have painted when he talked about Alaska. As Ross put it, God was having a good day when he made Alaska.