• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

It’s been some time since anything has been posted to Chronoludic (due to all of us being amazingly busy), but here’s a treat for you. Just a MegaByte is based on the Radio 4 show Just a Minute, but with a special twist – it’s all about gaming. Joing me on the pilot is Game Critics‘ Brad Gallaway, from Big Red Potion and the Unified Gamers Network, Sinan Kubba, and joining us at the last moment is Dave Traeger of Moddb/IndieDB/DesuraNET.

For those of you who are more familiar with the Just a Minute format will notice that we’ve been much more forgiving on “ums” and “errs” and small hesitation – this is due to the fact that talking about anything for a minute like that is very hard and we wanted to ease ourselves in. As usual, if you have any comments, questions or suggestions please leave them here, or get in contact with me via twitter.

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87)

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Do you remember last summer a little indie game on XBLA coming out called Limbo? We quite liked it, but what we didn’t really notice was its soundtrack. That was because it was ambient sounds, and next to no music! It might have been enough for the arty types like myself, but I bet the great many were alienated by the game that said nothing and didn’t even tell you what was going on. Well the clever folks at Play Dead decided to right their wrong last Autumn with a DLC soundtrack to be played over the game as either commentary or integrated into the main game, but it was clearly too late as barely anyone mentioned it! Well here at Sonoludic we decided it was time to dedicate a ‘cast to the groundbreaking procedural soundtrack system to the formerly-silent Limbo.

LIMBO on XBLA marketplace

LIMBO DLC

Playdead Studios

Enjoy!

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

It’s that time again, episode 6 of the Chronoludic podcast is here for your listening pleasure. In this episode we’re really (really) lucky to be joined by Brad Gallaway from Gamecritics.com for a discussion about some significant indie titles we’ve come across in the last few years. This list is quite eccletic by all accounts and it doesn’t prefess to being all-encompasing by any means, but they are still well worth checking out.

Dinner Date PC
Ilomilo XBLA
Facade PC
Epic Dunegon XBLIG
Machinarium PC
Shoot1up XBLIG

Enjoy!

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Do not adjust your RSS feed, it is really me and not Mike in this latest Sonoludic. Music is usually Mike’s department (after all Sonoludic is his baby), but after playing through K.O.L.M., a recent browser-based flash game by Armor Games, I was really inspired to make one of my own. I realise that it might seem a little ropey in places, but you’ll have to stick with me, the production of this was quite a journey for me.

I won’t give away much of what’s in the podcast, but I will advise that there are massive spoilers which go into the plot in great detail. This episode is a journey into the world of K.O.L.M. through Tommy “Ockeroid” Robin‘s powerful soundtrack. I won’t go into any more detail, but here are links to all the tracks in the order they appear, I really encourage you to check out Ockeroid’s other work it’s really good stuff.

Track one: Forming Habits 5:41

Track two: Counting Down the Hours 3:09

Track three: A Second Chance 4:45

Track four: Master vs Apprentice [A sample]

Track five: Let’s Get Lost Together 4:18

Track six: Master Vs Apprentice 4:56

Track seven: Strained Voice 3:05

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)

p.s. You can check out my review of K.O.L.M. from GamerDork.net here.

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Look it’s that time again. Episode 5 has come around sooner than expected and the world is a marginally better place for it (quite possibly). We’re joined again by my trusty companions Mike Dunbar and Seb Wuepper and our special guest is Eric Swain from The Game Critique to discuss the value of games today. From piles of shame to the $10 policy to Steam we take a slightly tangential journey through the veritable minefield which is “What’s a game worth?”.

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Hey, Mike here with another Sonoludic – the podcast that explores the music and sound of video-games. Chris is getting in on the act too, and he will be updating this ‘cast too but this episode is one of mine, and it’s about Deadly Premonition.

Deadly Premonition is a game that many gamers, a little unfairly perhaps, criticize because of its graphics and music appearing to be a bit dated. Now I can’t speak for the graphics, but when you examine the music of Deadly Premonition it is abundantly clear, to me, that like so many other things in the game, it is in fact riffing off Angelo Badalamenti, and Twin Peaks.

This podcast is about how a game can be influenced by a tv show, how it is interpreted for the music of another medium, and how other games took the same source material but unconstrained by the obligation to mimic it, are free to interpret it in other ways.

Update: While I’ve got your attention, you should swing by Planet Redwood – a Deadly Premonition Fansite that I just discovered has a section detailing the numerous references DP makes to Twin Peaks, there is section there comparing the music much the way I have, though some of the selections are different from my own, it is definitely worth checking out. NOTE – there are many spoilers for Deadly Premonition AND Twin Peaks in the references.

Track 1: “York and Zach” by R. Kinugasa, T. Kobayashi, and H. Mizutani from Deadly Premonition.

Track 2: “Greenvale” by R. Kinugasa et al. from Deadly Premonition.

Track 3: “Laura Palmer’s Theme (live, with commentary)” by A. Badalamenti from Twin Peaks.

Track 4: “Underground” by R. Kinugasa et al. from Deadly Premonition.

Track 5: “Night Life in Twin Peaks” by Angelo Badalamenti from Twin Peaks.

Track 6: “Thomas McClaine” by R. Kinugasa et al. from Deadly Premonition.

Track 7: “Dance of the Dream Man” by A. Badalamenti from Twin Peaks.

Track 8: “Different Persons” by A. Yamaoka from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Track 9: “Tom the Diver (Orchestral)” by P. Alanko from Alan Wake.

Track 10: “Lucas’ Main Theme” by A. Badalamenti from Fahrenheit.

Outro and bed-music under the first link is “Life is Beautiful” by R. Kinugasa et al. from Deadly Premonition.

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Welcome back to part two of episode 4 “A New Hope”, you rejoin us as we discuss our most anticipate games of 2011.  Joining me once again (i.e. we didn’t loose anyone whilst on break) is Mike Dunbar, Seb Wuepper and Ian Miles Cheong who. So what are you waiting for? Download the thrilling conclusion to “A New Hope”!

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Update: Part 2 can be found here.

Finally it’s back, the lumbering beast that is known as the Chronoludic Podcast has returned to fill you with game discussion and a little bit of confusion at times! You’ll have to take my word for it when I say that the production of EP4 was epic to say the least (which in reference to small gaming podcasts anyway). Missing hosts, dodgy microphones, anguish, lost time and a rogue lady called Pamela have tried to stop this episode from coming into being. In a veritable pendulum swing from no podcast at all, EP4 is weighing in at over 2hours and counting and for your sake I have opted to split it into two to save people passing out around the 1 hour mark.

We are joined by our usual co-hosts Mike Dunbar, Seb Wuepper and Ian Miles Cheong who stepped in at literally minutes notice (and “next time on…” music from Ockeroid). Rather than the usual format we decide to throw out the rule book and just take a look at 2011 in gaming and all the tangents that that would provide. Part one, as you see it here, is our least favourite/ least looked forward to games of 2011, which has some predictable choices and some slightly more intriguing ones. If you have noticed a few changes to the production of the podcast (and the lack of such wonderful show notes) it is because I’ve not taken on podcasting duties, aren’t you all lucky? So without further delay, take a listen to the first half, fill yourself with the nourishing Chronoludic goodness you’ve been lacking for the last few months.

Chr15 6r33n (Follow me on Twitter at chrisgreen87 and for Chronoludic updates click here)

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Hey! That’s no typo! Mike here with a new, exciting, podcast for you! Welcome to Sonoludic, the Chronoludic Game Music Podcast. This ‘cast will pick up the slack every month in between the regular Chronoludic podcasts, so you’ll get a new podcast every two weeks. The concept is thus: Game music is wonderful, varied, and full of hidden gems and passageways to music beyond games themselves, and it deserves to be celebrated. So I, Mike, will guide you through a few choice cuts, and tell you the stories behind the tracks in our favourite games (be they obscure, popular, old, or new). It’s also not just about celebrating the industry, every month I will feature a fan-made remix of a classic track, or something else in the community that I find interesting.

Unlike the regular Chronoludic podcast this is much shorter, and only features a little bit of talking (comparatively), but let’s get on with the shownotes. I promise they’re informative…

Track 1: “Cave Story Moon Rhapsody” by Doug Perry (a remix of Moonsong by Amaya Daisuke) from Cave Story.

Track 2: “The Glasshouse With Butterfly” by Tomáš Dvořák from Machinarium.

Tomáš Dvořák (AKA Floex) is the Czech composer for the Amanita Designs games Machinarium, and Samorost 2. He also released an album under his Floex moniker called Pocustone. His work is available on itunes.

Tomáš Dvořák

Track 3: “The Reclamation” by Jessica Curry (composer for Dear Esther and Korsakovia) from her outdoor installation Fields Were The Essence of the Song.

Jessica Curry is the Brighton-based composer who, outside her usual artistic works, contributes to the output of thechineseroom with Dan Pinchbeck. Her website refers to her as a composer for “virtual worlds and unusual real-life spaces”, and this is certainly true with her latest work Perpetual Light: Requiem for an Unscorched Earth – a choral work performed in disused nuclear bunkers. She also works in film, installation work, and interactive media. Her most famous work (in regards to games) is her work on the popular Source Mod Dear Esther, which is currently being remade by Mirror’s Edge level designer Robert Briscoe. The music is being re-orchestrated for the re-release.

Jessica Curry and Dan Pinchbeck at Indiecade 2009

Track 4: “Be With You” by Magnet from Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

Even Johansen (AKA Magnet) is a Norwegian musician who has released two full length albums, and the EP for Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. His sound is a unusual mix of heart-felt singer-songwriter brooding songs, with quite vibrant arrangements.

Track 5: “The Last Movement” by Michael Nyman from Enemy Zero

I hardly need to introduce Michael Nyman, I feel, but out of necessity he is one of the world’s prominent minimalist composers who, despite a huge body of work, is known primarily for his film soundtracks. Notably Jane Campion’s The Piano, and a long association with Peter Greenaway with films such as A Zed and Two Noughts and Prospero’s Books. Is also known for composing the scores for Michael Winterbottom’s Wonderland, the film Gattaca, and the film The Ogre starring John Malkovich as a simple man who turns children toward the Nazi party in the belief he is protecting them – the score of which Nyman reworked for Enemy Zero. He also dabbles in photography and filmmaking.

Michael Nyman in his iconic glasses.

Track 6: “Are You Coming Home? Love MOM” by Kyle Gabler from World of Goo.

Kyle Gabler is, of course, not just the composer of World of Goo – he is one half of 2DBoy with Ron Carmel, and define themselves as soldiers on the front line of the indie game revolution. Stirring stuff.

• Subscribe links to the podcast & blog feeds in the sidebar
• Or subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here
• Or even download the podcast directly here
• Or you can listen to it here:

Heyo, Mike here, and I’m here to welcome you to episode 3 of the Chronoludic podcast! Not only is it our third ‘cast, it is also the first ‘cast that our new writer Seb has sat in on. Speaking personally I’m really glad he was there as he was not only good conversation, but very knowledgeable on the feature of this month’s podcast: handheld gaming devices.

Now for the shownotes:

Chronoludic Ep3: Awesomeness in the Power of Your Hand – Shownotes

00:00:00 – 00:02:00

Introduction to the podcast, Mike’s music “Sad Robot”, and a chat with Seb – our new writer. Chris implies he has a “new car smell” but I shouldn’t like to think where he got this info.

“The News” (in which we round up what’s going on at the minute and talk about it until it’s not news anymore)

00:02:00 – 00:08:07

The first part is a chat Realtime Worlds going, sadly, into administration. Obviously we wish the best for all those affected by it, and for those who have lost jobs to move on to better things. The conversation inevitably turns to APB’s subscription model.

00:08:07 – 00:24:16

In the wake of Gamescom 2010 things have been dated. This includes Portal 2. We talk about game releases trickling throughout the year increasingly, and the way Valve is treating the hype build-up with Portal 2. Kinect is dated (we don’t care too much), Mass Effect 2 for PS3 is discussed, as well as Gearbox taking on Duke Nukem Forever (and ever, and ever). Finally, to conclude the “news”, CLINT HOCKING has been hired by Lucasarts to work on an original, unannounced, title. I am excited by this because I’m glad he’s still in games, at least.

Feature: Handheld Gaming

00:24:16 – 00:25:00

A short excerpt from the track “Gameboy Tune” composed by Tomáš Dvořák (AKA Floex) from the soundtrack to the Amanita Designs game Machinarium.

00:25:00 – 00:43:00

A feature on handhelds, I think, has the potential to get a bit dry so to give you all a good place to have a little rest, I have broken the feature up into two sections: The past – from the Gameboy up until just before the Gameboy Advance, and then the present and future. In this first section we discuss what mobile gaming means to us a gamers, and discuss how the main driving force of its success is it’s portability – and that that is the main draw, as a comparison between the Gameboy and Game Gear attests. We also discuss a few “also ran” handhelds, which to be honest, I had to use Wikipedia to keep up with.

00:43:00 – 00:43:34

An excerpt of the track “My Virtual World of Goo Corporation” composed by Kyle Gabler from the soundtrack to, you’ll never guess, World of Goo.

00:43:34 – 01:09:07

In the concluding part of our feature we discuss the present and future of handheld gaming. We talk about the Nintendo DS in its variant forms, and its competitors. We also turn to Apple with a look to the future, and discuss the health of the appstore as a games platform.

NOTE: This photograph is what you need to look at for discussion on the N-Gage:

What We’re Playing – In which, in that classic game podcast style, we discuss what we’ve been playing.

01:09:07 – 01:10:25

An excerpt of the track “Home Sweet Home” composed by Christophe Heral from the soundtrack to the not-Nietzsche Sim game Beyond Good and Evil.

01:10:25 – 01:36:25

The entirety of this section is used to discuss our compounded experiences with Kane and Lynch 2 – an unusual amount of focus for a game we all thought was distinctly average, but then it its imperfections there are lessons to be learned. It also raises an interesting question about racism in games, and we agree Kane and Lynch 2 treads a thin line on the matter. I would be compelled to say that thematically for the characters the representation of Shanghai is in keeping with their paranoid and violent natures, and since no one is represented as being superior to the other it narrowly avoids being totally racist, however, I would still feel incredibly awkward playing this game with a Chinese person.

Toodle Pip…

01:36:25 – 01:37:48

We say our goodbyes and play that theme song with the talking robot (what I wrote) again.