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Episodes

Season 11, Episode 33

We’re doing that PAX thing at the following link.

Yes, another PAX is upon us and we won’t be here next week so please enjoy the sounds from our music episode from a few weeks back while we take in the sights and sounds of PAX. We’ll be back with a new episode the week after next. Still, there’s this episode to enjoy until then.

So, it’s out there now. Probably. Pretty sure. Does it satisfy you? Are you happy with it? I wasn’t as heavily invested as some were for the next Half-Life. I wasn’t there at the beginning to know what this was like. I can relate it to like…television shows or movies, but I don’t think it’s the same. But it’s out there now supposedly. Not the game itself but apparently the story of how it all would have gone. Does it disappoint you because you never got to play it? Do you feel better now knowing how it would have ended? The thing of it is, at this point, if it were to come out, I don’t think anyone would actually be happy about it. Maybe as some kind of closure that it’s just done, regardless, may satisfy some people. I think in the end, however, it might actually be more like when Duke Nukem was finally released. The proverbial whimper instead of a bang. Maybe not to the extent of DN but something like it. I think there’s a timeline for a series. A path of longevity where there are certain points of no return. At some point along the line you really can’t go back and your options of continuation turn into a reboot, a la Tomb Raider. Maybe around that same point on the timeline could be the option of “spiritual successor”, a la Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls or System Shock 2 and Bioshock.

Either way, I hope this finally puts to rest a long national nightmare in the video game world of speculation and ghost hunting. Trying to make sense out of random statements and updates and store games and goose chases. Because you’re never going to get what you always wanted and even if somehow you do, it’ll probably never be what it could have been or, even, good enough.

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Episodes

Season 11, Episode 32

We’re not familiar enough with card games to make a witty line here at the following link.

I’ve never gotten into the card game racket. Cards, yes. But card games, never. I should also say that I’ve never actually given them a try, either, so there’s that. Outside of a standard deck of 52 playing cards, collectible cards were never a game for me growing up. They were exactly what they implied in their name – collectible. Maybe they were Pokemon in a way, where you had to get a whole set and it was random to do so. You just buy packs and packs and over time amass a collection of cards that eventually could be made into a full set for whatever series was out that year. Also complete with your special cards of foil or whatever thing set it apart from the standard cards. Also, I’m not talking baseball, here. This is going WAY back to the days of GarbagePail Kids, MARVEL series, and things like that. I still have them somewhere here in the house but yeah – these were never made into a game.

I grew up to see the evolution of collectible cards turning into a game though with Magic. It never hooked me but I also never gave it any time to do so. I looked at the cards and would watch people play from time to time but I didn’t really know what was going on and it never set its claws into me to begin with. I never bit. On any of the card games that eventually arose from Magic’s success – and it was a massive success. I really felt like I’d missed the boat a lot of the times but again…the interest was never there. There’s been card games now based on plenty of different properties and some of which should totally pull me in, but nope. Still nothing.

I’m not saying it won’t ever happen for me. I’m completely open to trying to let these things set root inside my interest, but so far they haven’t. Eventually maybe something will come along and do it or I’ll experience the right play setting and it’ll all snap in, but for now, I’m totally fine watching others and wondering what I’m missing.

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Episodes Interviews

Season 11, Episode 31

We WILL do this again at the following link.

What’s your favorite part of a video game? Is the story? Is the beauty of the graphics? Is it the gameplay? Is it the ending? The beginning? A certain part somewhere in the game?

I think more and more I find myself drawn to the music of games. Some games I don’t even have to play to enjoy the music. I can experience them outside of ever having touched the game or known anything about it and can still appreciate the music from the game. There’s a multitude of examples of that very thing in this episode.

Of course, there’s also the insight of the two composers we talk with on the show. I’ve known Gareth Coker since we had him on the show for his Ori & The Blind Forest score and we’ve stayed in touch so it was really nice to catch back up with him again on his current work and go a bit deeper into his head on how he writes for video games. I’ve only met Jason Graves briefly at an autograph session where he signed my vinyl of his score for The Order 1886. Being able to talk to him at length though along with Gareth gave me a better understanding of the whole process. But every composer is different so I doubt much of the questions asked will ever change from composer to composer.

It’s a beautiful thing to make emotion out of music and memories out of melodies. Sometimes it’s just a good beat. Sometimes it’s a sweeping epic of a music track. Sometimes it’s hearing something from your childhood in a totally brand new way (see the Donkey Kong Country track in this episode).

I’m not too big on going back and replaying games. You can never recreate that feeling you had first playing it, but I go back to the music of my favorites all the time. That’s the portal to a good game for me. If I want to step back into that feeling and those memories, then the music from the game is that door for me. We’ve done this show for 481 episodes and this is only the second time we’ve spent a whole show dedicated to the music of video games. We’ll do it again, and we won’t wait 4 years in between either.

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Episodes

Season 11, Episode 30

We’re not mad at that doughnut at the following link.

I really hope you like video game music. Chances are, if you listen to this show, you do. Next week we’re going to do a music show. Barring any massive gaming news we’ll just be playing and talking video game music for the whole show. And we’ll be doing it with the help of your song submissions and two exceptional composers. Gareth Coker has been on the show before. He’s the composer for Ori & The Blind Forest, ARK, and Mean Greens, as well as plenty of other games. He’s also just fun to talk to and hang out with. Jason Graves is someone I’ve met at PAX but we’ve never had him on the show before. He’s composed for Dead Space, Until Dawn, and The Order 1886.

Now the only thing left is you. Send us your submissions for songs to play on the show and a little bit about why you like whatever it is you’re sending. No vocal tracks please and no covers – a familiar theme but played on a didgeridoo or something like that. We want to hear from you and what you enjoy in video game music.

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Episodes

Season 11, Episode 29

We’re tuning up the band at the following link.

In two weeks, my two co-hosts of the show will be off enjoying the very first (I think) local comic/sci-fi/etc con here in town. In fact, a lot of people will. Even myself, but while I’ll be there as just someone enjoying it, they actually have responsibilities for it and won’t be able to make the show. I’m not one to skip shows for many reasons. Hell, we used to keep going even when I made my trips or was stuck in a hospital. It was seriously something we didn’t miss for any reason if we could help it. And given we’re already going to miss a show later in the month while I’m at PAX, I didn’t want to miss another one so soon before. So, what’s a host to do when they’ve got no one to talk to for two hours?

Music Show!! We’ve been wanting to do something like this annually but haven’t done it since going all the way back to September 7th, 2013. I’ve gotten the ball rolling with some interview request to composers, but we’re also going to need your help. Got a favorite track? Send us an email with it along with a short explanation of WHY it’s your favorite. No idea how this will line up as far as timing with whatever guests we may get so let’s limit it to one submission per person for now.

Keep an eye on us on twitter as we announce there who we’ll be having on the show.