Episode 11: Pandora's Squawks
Playing With Form
Tick tock, it's bird-o-clock. This episode, "Pandora's Squawks", is actually barely about videogames at all. Instead, I reveal dangerous knowledge about soundscapes, but hand in hand with danger comes power. And it all starts with that one time I heard a bird during Star Trek. This is the kind of show you can listen to out of order, especially this episode, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make. Thanks to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Macaulay Library for letting me use some of their birdsong...
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Episode 10: Where the Magic Happens
Playing With Form
Ready for action! This episode, "Where the Magic Happens", is all about small sound cues, how our brain processes them, and how a specific genre, and series, makes the most of them. This is the kind of show you can listen to out of order, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make. And if you end up buying Warcraft 3 because of this episode, be warned: the current remastered version (Reforged) changed the audiovisuals for the worse, but luckily, player feedback got them to add classic graphics and...
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Episode 9: Behind the Closed Door
Playing With Form
A late Halloween special, because I'm not great at time management. In this episode, "Behind the Closed Door", I talk about tools of the trade for horror writers, and we're getting Lovecraftian about it. Some things to look forward to: A house containing a bug of variable size, a completely normal hike through the woods, and me hamming it up the whole time. This is the kind of series you can listen to out of order, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make.
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Episode 8: Know Your Limits
Playing With Form
Another one! In this episode, "Know Your Limits", I talk about a whole heap of things, but mainly save points. Some things to look forward to this time: A boss fight decades in the making, Link putting on pants, and a conversation between three thinkers who have never met. This is the kind of series you can listen to out of order, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make. And I got some links for you all, both interviews with Satoshi Nakai, both very different, and both very worthwhile. -...
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Episode 7: The Building Blocks of Life
Playing With Form
The triumphant return of Playing With Form! In this episode, "The Building Blocks of Life", I talk about composition. Some things to look forward to this time: Music written and performed on a Nintendo DS emulator, a suspiciously important 2 years of game design, and multiple literal interpretations of the term "worldbuilding". This is the kind of series you can listen to out of order, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make.
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Episode 6: To See With Your Ears
Playing With Form
The sixth episode, talking about the practical and philosophical merits of game sound. Some things to look forward to this time: Poetry from inside the womb, a commentated romp through the underworld, and repurposed film theory.
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Episode 5: A Story About A Story About A Tree
Playing With Form
The fifth episode, ruminating on human connection and the mushrooming of ideas. Some things to look forward to this time: Amateur philosophy and virtual film noir, all framed by the world's most boring Let's Play.
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Episode 4: Where to Draw the Line
Playing With Form
The fourth episode, talking about music, and the concept of nonlinear media. Some things to look forward to this time: A Final Fantasy X rant, the merits of virtual radio, and a Russian composer very much out of his element.
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Episode 3: An Ode to Gibberish
Playing With Form
The third episode, exploring voice and identity.
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Episode 2: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Random Number
Playing With Form
The second episode, discussing random number generation.
info_outlineAnd with three episodes, we have formed a pattern!
In this third episode, "An Ode to Gibberish", I talk about voice and character identity.
Some things to look forward to this time: Visual psychology transposed to audio, ideas for new VR games, and a lot of little blipping noises.
This is the kind of series you can listen to out of order, but I’d recommend listening to the first episode at some point. It explains why this podcast exists, and was a lot of fun to make.
And this time, for the more curious listeners, I have quite a few links.
- For the full Charles Martinet interview I sampled, click here.
- For a playable version of Colossal Cave Adventure, click here. As the precursor to all interactive storytelling, it deserves to be played just for that. It's also pretty fun.
- I only talk about Nevermind briefly, but the studio and concept are worth checking out. Here's more information on them.