Jason Michael Paul is the producer behind the large scale video game symphonies we have today. Concerts like “Dear Friends”, “More Friends: Music From Final Fantasy”, “PLAY: A Video Game Symphony”, “25th Anniversary Legend of Zelda” and the currently touring “Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses”.
We’ve all heard of all these awesome themed bars, that serve up exotic cocktails, foods and events to cater to your needs. For me, these types of places seemed so far away or I had no idea where they were. Fast forward to me turning 21 years old and finally moving over to Atlanta, Georgia, a completely foreign land to a born and raised Californian. I had heard through a friend about Battle&Brew, which was described to me as a videogame themed bar. Before that the only place I knew that was remotely like this place was the Mana Bar in Australia, which always seemed like a dream to me. Playing videogames, while drinking beer and/or themed cocktail drinks… definitely couldn’t be true.
This NYCC I had the chance to sit down and chat with Game of Thrones very own Jon Snow. While we all know that winter is coming, actor Kit Harington is spending this Fall surviving the horror of Silent Hill in Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. We talked creepy nurses, his love for Street Fighter and why his take on Vincent in Revelation 3D will be very different.
E3 2012 may not have blown many gamers away earth shattering announcements but there was plenty of fantastic software. So much so, that our wallets will be pleading for mercy this Winter. Here are our Best of E3 2012.
Ex-Lionhead programmer Kostas Zarifis and his new studio Kinesthetic Games are on a mission to change your perception of motion gaming with their title Kung Fu Superstar. We had a chance to talk with Kostas about the state of motion gaming in the industry, and why their debut title just may be able to transform you into a Kung Superstar in your living room.
For the last few years artist Jason Chan’s infamous painting of kids on a playground fighting off zombies has made the internet rounds on tumblr, twitter, reddit and just about every other social network you can imagine. Now, Jason Chan, animator Chris Hatala and an all-star team of developers are looking to bring to life the zombie playground beat-down in an all new third-person survival team-based game. The guys behind the project (Massive Black) known for amazing animation and conceptual art were kind enough to sit with us and talk Zombie Playground.
You may not know artist and developer Long Vo by name but odds are you’ve seen his work. With a long and accomplished history in comics as well as game development with legendary studios like Capcom, Long’s resume is as long (no pun intended) as it is varied. Currently Long has dived head first into the brave and bold world of mobile development as Creative Director for Hiptic Games. Their first title Go Ninja! aims to bring back a bit of the old school action we grew up with on the NES to iOS and Android devices. We talk Ninjas and mobile development with Mr. Vo.
Odds are you don’t know Matt Ryan Page by name but you’ve come across his amazing Metroid fanart around the Tumblr network and Pinterest. Amazingly enough, not only is Matt a wonderfully geeky guy, a gamer but also a local artist (Florida) as well. Here at GND we love to peer behind the awesome emerging artists inspired by gaming and the media we love. So I bothered Matt for an interview and he graciously said yes. Read on to find out who is Matthew Ryan, the man behind the fanart.
Microsoft has been quiet. I’d say too quiet, about what’s coming to their platform in 2012. Granted there’s always surprises come E3 time, as Microsoft loves to announce tons of new stuff at the expo. But what’s coming this Summer? Ah, well that’s what the Xbox 360 Spring Showcase is for.
We’re all still reeling from 2011, which was a hell of a good year for gaming and a terrible year for my wallet but here we are in 2012 and if you think that just because the holidays are over your wallets safe, than think again! Q1 of 2012 is packed with some quality software; full of aliens, zombies and even some elves — the next three months are full of, as I eloquently put it, “Good sh*t!”.
December 6th launches Microsoft’s latest update to the Xbox 360 dashboard. Bringing with it not just a new look, but a much heavier focus on apps. If you think it the new dashboard looks an awful lot like a Windows phone, it’s not a coincidence. Metro, the new style is something that Microsoft is bringing over to all of its products, including the upcoming Windows 8. Sure, some apps on the new dashboard are going to require a subscription similar to Netflix, but what can GOLD members look forward to for free? Let’s take a look at what that $60 a year is getting us.
Its been awhile since I’ve done a Soundtrack Sunday, but with Halloween being Monday I thought now would be a great time to highlight Akira Yamaoka. Akira Yamaoka is one of the best musicians in the game industry, so it’s not a shock to anyone that his soundtrack for Suda 51’s Shadows of the Damned is one of the stand out game soundtracks this year. While not as creepy as his work on the Silent Hill series, it’s great stuff none the less. Check it for yourself after the break.
Several months ago we stumbled upon a little trailer for a new indie game that really came out of left-field and shocked us (and several other outlets) with a beautiful soundtrack and an interesting premise that really hit the heart. We had to know more, and thus we managed to bug Director and Designer Kan Gao just enough to give us some new details on Freebird Games latest title: To the Moon.
You may have seen some of his work in the erroneously overlooked time-traveling shooter Singularity, but if by chance you missed it, you’ll be seeing plenty in next years apocalyptic Darksiders II. Steven Skidmore is a gamer, music lover and environmental artist on the upcoming action-adventure title which is receiving tons of buzz and for good reason… it’s looking pretty bad ass. Steven was kind enough to answer a few question for us on what it’s like for an up and coming artist in the industry and even touches a wee bit on Darksiders II.
