Imagine a cold spring morning; it’s the time of year when the temperature is slowly shifting from the lifeless cold of winter to the gentle, cool breezes of springtime. The light of the sun climbs across the ground and pours through the cracks in your curtains, and a methodical, rising sound lulls you from a deep sleep. Savor the feeling. That is the opening to the debut album from chiptune duo Teleidofusion.

I also got to see the one and only Nullsleep perform this past weekend over at Synchronicity in Los Angeles with George Brower, Trash80, and Mr. Spastic. It was my first straight on chiptune show, and definitely had a great time there. Also passed out a lot of flyers for West Coast Wigout 2 which I hope entices some people to come out.

I think I will write more about my experience working on WCWO2 soon on here as well, once things let up at work. Maybe a post about the Nullsleep show as well if time permits, it was certainly a night to remember, I can assure you of that! Here’s a crappy camera phone photo I grabbed of Nullsleep’s performance as well!

And when I finally get there I’ll taste freedom.
Freedom from my family and their lies.
Freedom from my boss,
and freedom from the cross.
The cross on which I once was crucified.

Welcome to Stage Select! What is that you say? Well I shall break it down for you now. This series looks to take chiptune songs and use them to tell a tale. Imagine something akin to a music video, where every note and tempo change tells part of a story.

The first song we bring you is one that has been playing in my head for some time since I ran across it last year. It comes from the debut EP Challenge! by Swedish musician Comptroller. The full album is available free over at GM4A Records, but we will be focusing on the second track from this EP, the song Galactic Hero. The album in full feels like the soundtrack to an epic space opera, and that is the theme I am going with today to describe this song. Follow along as you listen to the track and I hope you enjoy!

Read more over at this beepcity.com link.

The second one is over at The Naked Gamers. This one is a rewrite of an old Megas article from The Start Screen. I rewrote and cleaned it up a bit, and think it is a good article. I will have a completely new write up for TNG next week, but for now, check out this rewrite.

As jazz bands have standards, the types of songs many musicians rearrange and make their own, the video game inspired music world also has their standard video games which everyone covers. It seems one of the most often rearranged, remixed and recreated soundtrack is the NES classic Mega Man 2. That is surely not to say that the game is overdone. There is one band though, who has not only taken Mega Man and created something new, but just as much, have given something back to the game. Musically they have infused the game with a new background, depth, and mentality that should have never existed in the minimalist colors and dimensions of a humble platformer from 1989.

Read more over at this The Naked Gamers link.

Hope you enjoy the articles! More soon! And of course I am always looking for more outlets to post at!

Looks like I will be writing for Beep City soon though! I think I am going to title the article series “Stage Select.” Luckily I do not need any fancy graphics or anything for this one. The basic idea for the article is that I will take one chiptune track from my collection and plunder it’s musical depths and gleam from it a short review of the imagery the song conjures up in my mind. Was that description a little over the top there? Yeah, probably. Well basically I review and discuss one track per article.

Above and beyond that I have to draw a small pixel art “screenshot” of the image I have in my mind from the game too. If you look a couple posts back I kind of did something like that with the song Galactic Hero by Comptroller. That is initially where I got the idea for these articles actually.

I am also looking for other websites to write for as well, I really feel like the next step to being a writer is working with deadlines, expanding my writing style with different types of articles, and simply getting my name out there. This comes right on the heels of my former guest writer stomping ground The Start Screen (not linking it since it doesn’t exist anymore) shutting down forever just last week. So with that I am also looking to rewrite and re-host my articles, and let me continue writing them. I am really hoping for an established video game website to host my articles. Are YOU that website!?

Well I would prefer one that could pay me, but who am I to demand such things just yet? I would love some more financial security though, and I wonder how much better I would write if I got paid for it. That is a whole other thing to think about though, and won’t dwell on it now.

We got love
Love to share
That is why we’re here

I have been able to get This Week in VGIM back on track. Started releasing new episodes of Ballad of the Wind Fish once again. Not to mention GM4A’s upcoming concert.

Another thing I am proud of is the slow but steady success of the GM4A Records netlabel that has started up merely two months ago. Since then we have been lucky enough to have two great album releases in Comptroller and Doug Leinen. Also several exciting upcoming projects which I hope will see the light of day as well.

Now to change things up a little.

That there is a simple astronaut man I drew in tribute to the Comptroller track Galactic Hero, which I have gone on record as saying highly visualizes the moments building down to a heroic launch into space. That also leads me to another artistic endeavor I am undertaking, although I don’t want to reveal what that is just yet. I am not sure exactly when it will be popping up, but I have been putting a ton of thought and some bit of work into it, and hope that it comes to fruition soon because I am very excited about it.

One more thing, before I was sadly ripped away from my former computer last year, I was working on another new thing, which explains that blank post below this one. Though it has not seen life just yet, I am happy to be resurrecting it very soon. That should be exciting as well!

Winter’s cityside
Crystal bits of snowflakes
All around my head and in the wind
I had no illusions
That I’d ever find a glimpse
Of summer’s heatwaves in your eyes

http://gamemusic4all.com

gamemusic4all.com

Here we see the northern river going from ice into a free flowing river. I don’t think I made the transition as smooth as I would like, But I still think it looks pretty good. This is of course the Northern part of the map,  and just east of where the snow dungeon resides.

And to the East the gentle grass slowly turns into a harsh magma filled hellscape. This will be the location of the fifth dungeon as well. Though I am still not sure exactly what my plan is for that dungeon. Perhaps it will come to me in a dream?

Also big plans for a very special Ballad of The Wind Fish tomorrow! On that note I should mention that the last weeks episodes are available to listen to on the appropriate GM4A page. I look forward to tomorrow afternoon’s show, so with that I am off!

Oh yeah, before I go, we also have a cool contest announcement coming up soon on GM4A, keep an eye out for that one!

So what if we like to do what we do?
It’s not like we’re gonna stop any time soon.

Hey! Listen! The Megas Get Equipped

The article was admittedly a rush job, but when talking about a great band like The Megas, it’s not hard to find things to say. I am thinking my next article will cover Doctor Octoroc’s 8 Bit Jesus album, as a bit of thanks for the work he is doing for me lately. Not to mention more Christmas posts are necessary all around.

No new dungeons to report today, I know all one of you were looking forward to it but oh well. I did name the water dungeon “Phreatic Caverns” after a bit of looking at synonyms of water. I like the sound of it, plus it’s all science-ish. Everyone wins! I have been thinking about how I should set up the names of landmarks and stuff. Hopefully I can come up with science names for the dungeon. It would be awesome though to use plays on names from VG inspired music things (albums, band names, songs names, etc.) for landmarks, items, and weapons. Just a thought, but I am liking the idea more and more. Perhaps a temporary defense spell called Temp Shield Solution?

It should be noted, that as an inside joke I was going to call this post “Stinkpot” but lord knows what kind of attention that might get me.

Well I have written a good bit, and even squeezed some scribblenauts into the day. I would say it was a success. Now to wait for my next paycheck so I can rock that new Zelda DS game. Color me excited!

Zelda
Is such a happy game
But Link really looks
A lot like my groin, you know

As jazz bands have standards, the types of songs many musicians rearrange and make their own, the video game inspired music world also has their standard video games which everyone covers.  It seems one of the most often rearranged, remixed and recreated soundtrack is the NES classic Mega Man 2. That is surely not to say that the game is overdone. There is one band though, who has not only taken Mega Man and created something new, but just as much, have given something back to the game. Musically they have infused the game with a new background, depth, and mentality that should have never existed in the minimalist colors and dimensions of a humble platformer from 1989.

The Megas (themegas.com) are that band. A combination of rock aesthetics mixed with nerdery, storytelling, and a sometimes tongue in cheek attitude create a stand out band in and out of video game music circles. Forming in 200X (or 2004 for non robotic readers) things started slow as a side project, but things have heated up significantly since the release of their debut album Get Equipped.

The debut album focuses on the story of Mega Man II in both song and lyrics. The concept doesn’t stop there though. On closer inspection you learn that each robot master’s theme is accompanied by lyrics from that robot masters perspective. So each song has a distinct mindset and feeling, from the loneliness turned anger of Airman in his song The Annihilation of Monsteropolis (which is also available at OCReMix) to the earnest struggle within Bubbleman in Promise of Redemption.

There are also the requisite epic battle songs like the searing Man on Fire, which looks at Heatman’s perspective of his showdown with Megaman, and the western style duel between Megaman and Quickman in the song The Quick and the Blue, which sees Quickman’s final demise at Megaman’s hands (or hand and cannon, if you want to be literal about it). There are even some unexpected twists to the supposed villians in Megaman II like anti-hero Crashman in his song Programmed to Fight. In which we see his struggle between what he is programmed to do, and what he knows is right, even if it means his own death. We also get a glimpse into the disturbingly obsessed Flashman in the track Blue Like You.

Metal Dance is of course the track for Metalman (which was also used as a remix by Mega Man influenced rapper, Random). This song gives Metalman a pompous and fight obsessed nature. How the fight turns out though, the music never seems to let on. This leads right into the near opposite of Metalman. Megaman is up against the all natural Woodman. In Carved from Mighty Oak we learn about why Woodman will defeat Megaman and “avenge the death of his robot brothers.” These are all bookended with the songs from Megaman himself. The opening track I Want to be The One introduces us to who Megaman is, and why he is fighting. The final track, Lamentations of a War Machine, is a reprise. Megaman is now reflecting on the war he fought and the decisions he has made. After fighting first hand, it seems like Megaman’s determination has begun to waver.

Will this new side of Megaman be explored in the upcoming Mega Man 3 project which is supposedly in the works from The Megas? I am as in the dark about you as that one I am afraid. For MM2 completionists, The Megas also released another single from the game after the release of their debut album, and from an unheard perspective. This is The Message From Dr. Light and in it we hear from Megaman’s very creator in an epic preamble to everything before the robot war. The song appeared on the Game Music 4 All album Welcome to World 2.

After all this hubbub about the classic Megaman 2, The Megas started to hear shouts of “But what the heck about the first Megaman!?” Those shouting loudest were East coast VG rockers, Entertainment System (myspace.com/entertainmentsystem), whom The Megas had toured with briefly around 32 Bit Genocide. Unlike most shouting on the internet though, this actually helped something. Specifically the Megatainment EP. This was a four track EP wherein Entertainment System brings in their own brand of hard rocking to team up with The Megas vocal proficiency to create a prequel to the acclaimed Get Equipped. That album, which is just as amazing, and with it’s own rougher but just as catchy style will be the focus of another article though.

The debut album from The Megas also create a great introductory album to VG Rock, as well as Mega Man in general, with it’s catchy, genre fusing style and pop sensibilities. That isn’t to say that the songs do not rock though, as anyone who has been to a Megas show can attest to. Be sure to check out their music at themegas.com. Any fan of rock music will not be disappointed with the musical abilities they bring to the table. And with a brand new acoustic album on the horizon, as well as the previously mentioned Megaman 3 project, it is certainly a good time to be a Megas fan.

Quickman and Dr Light Artwork by Rocco D. Commisso

In GM4A news I have nailed down the layout I think I will be sticking with for the now titled Week in VGIM post I hope to be doing every sunday now. I think that is a good way to link to folks, and hopefully get some reciprocal links back as well. I am already worrying about the ability to find new videos and artwork every week though, so hopefully I can gather up some back up stuff to get me a few weeks ahead, just in case. Although if folks send me more links in the comments, that may remedy the problem as well.

Other than that, I took it pretty easy today, which is probably a bad call since I will be so busy over the next few days. Well hopefully when I wake up tomorrow I will be willing to focus on, and write up a good few articles.

Last night I worked a little more on the world map I am creating. Not as much as I would have liked, but I did finish the area containing the second dungeon as seen below.

The idea is, that the pond in the middle of the lake is supposed to be drained, and the entrance to the dungeon is underneath. Yeah I kind of stole the idea a little from Link to the Past, but so what! You also get to the small lake within a lake from the strip of land just to the east of it. I want to think of names for the dungeon, lake, and river all, but am terrible with names. Something should come to me though. This will be the second dungeon in the “game” though, with the first being a kind of “beginner” dungeon to learn the ropes and get your first real weapon. I am putting far too much thought into this, but I have this thing about adding backgrounds to and personifying everything I can wrap my brain around.

Right now though, it is Saturday night, which means I am going to fall asleep to a brand new episode of Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, and what is this? … there is also a new Skeptic’s 5X5!? SWEET!

Danny, however, was a unique creation.
Endowed with both purpose, and destiny.