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sound

Adrienne Shaw | Keywords in Play, Episode 14

…of like, kind of like, back and forth which we won’t go into. But, that kind of like, do you see that as being one of the reasons that Hall’s influence has been relatively limited to date in something like game studies? And is that part of the kind of like the intervention that you’re trying to make in bringing these, these concepts together?

Adrienne: I mean, I think that there are two things there. One is, is that it does sound sort of very traditional reader text-based. And that probably is why it hasn’t, it doesn’t leap off,…

November 2021

…“Critical Kate” Willært (25:06)

Critical Kate (no relation) makes a thorough (and thoroughly entertaining!) study of the various earlier games and other media to inspire the narrative, gameplay, and visual design of the original Metroid (1986). (Manual captions)

  • Trackers: The Sound of 16-Bit – Ahoy (41:11)

    Ahoy charts the evolution and influences of digital music creation ‘tracker’ software for home computer systems through the 1980s and 90s. (Manual captions)

  • The Animation of Final Fantasy II – New Frame Plus (15:33)

    Dan Floyd shows how the subtle evolutions of character animation between Final Fantasy and Final

    …

    • September 12th

    …good work of flash, each word has meaning and every syllable has a place. It teaches you to read with a more stringent eye, and forces speedreaders to slow down for once. Likewise, each button press in a rhythm game matters. A dropped or delayed input can spell the difference between a high score and your worst run. It can’t be mashed around—you need to be able to sound each input out on your controller, in time, in sequence.”

    Seen and Scene

    Two new meditations on identity and visibility, both in and out of game.

    • …

    May 21st

    …fires.

  • R-Type [1987] | Arcade Idea Art Maybury finds something utterly alien in R-Type–the aesthetics and theming, sure, but also the original context and asking proposition of a game demanding so many hours and quarters to see it through.

    • “You basically have to make R-Type your hobby, a regular fixture in your life. Maybe starting from the start more often gives you an edge over me especially because you get to keep your power-ups, maybe you’re better at video games than I am, but for as perfectly likely as those propositions sound to me, I kinda…

    August 27th

    …about frogs, with comic fonts and non-sequitur-delivering wildlife. I would too, but only in the context of what a good thing this is.”

    Critical Chaser

    Sound advice.

    • Common Proverbs as Video Game Tutorials | McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Matthew S. Burns sees us out with a little Gamer Wisdom for the ages.

    “Distant grass will always have a greener hue. You can fine-tune the appearance of distant grass in Settings > Graphics.”

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    Critical Distance is community-supported. Our readers support us from as little as one dollar a month. Would…

    September 10th

    …typewriter. “That’s what this is like. Although I hope this isn’t the Final Episode.” Two weeks later, the state executed him.”

    The Hot Goss

    Next, let’s catch up with critical impressions from the newest games, from both the triple-A and indie ends of the spectrum.

    • Starfield makes space travel its most trivial mechanic | Polygon Maddy Myers finds getting around in Starfield to be a little too frictionless.
    • Goodbye Volcano High review – killer tunes soundtrack a teen drama for the ages | Eurogamer Alexis Ong finds a rhythym of raw authenticity in KO_OP’s…

    Brendan Keogh | Keywords in Play, Episode 31

    …a game and I only make two thousand dollars, Steam is happy with that because they still take thirty per cent and they didn’t invest anything, it’s win-win for Steam. And that’s just how platformatisation works, it’s just internet landlords essentially. However, that all sounds very cynical and pessimistic but at the same time what we’re seeing – and that’s how more critical kind of creative labour people already talked about it, but what I found exciting about games is despite all of that being true it is also undeniable that game makers have more power now than ever before…

    November 19th

    …Eurogamer Vikki Blake has a look in on Konami’s groundbreaking pay-to-win TV show.

    “I don’t believe that “Team Silent” – a fabled group of OG Konami developers that never really existed (only sound director Akira Yamaoka worked across all four inaugural games) – is sacrosanct any more than I believe a Western team can’t make a genuinely unsettling Silent Hill adventure. But right now, Ascension’s wobbly infrastructure and uneven progression system make it hard to enjoy and painfully difficult to recommend to anyone other than the most ardent Silent Hill fan, and even they’re a vanishing breed…

    December 3rd

    …in a world that wants to deny both to them, but for that to work, you have to be very precise about who is seeking the comfort and who is being kept out in order to maintain it. You can’t just shut the door behind you and call that an act of radicalism.”

    The Dev Is in the Details

    Here are a pair of cool developer interviews, capturing both indie and AAA perspectives.

    • How Alan Wake 2’s Composer crafted the sound of The Dark Place | Game Developer Bryn Gelbart chats with Petri Alanko about…

    February 25th

    …to reshaping the survival genre | GamesIndustry.biz Sophie McEvoy talks to director Alex Dracott about building a survival game around a station wagon that became its own character.

  • Against the Storm and its compelling, continuous rain | GamesHub Meghann O’Neill sits down to discuss Against the Storm‘s rain and much more with composer and sound designer Mikolaj Kurpios.
  • Tales Of Kenzera: Zau Creator On Afrofuturism And Grief | Kotaku Alyssa Mercante chats with designer Abubakar Salim about telling an authentic story about grief, the industry pressure on Black creatives, and more.

    • “In an industry where…