Robert Stark and co-host Francis Nally talk to Rodney Alan Greenblat. Rodney is well known for his visual artwork that includes paintings, constructions and illustration. He isthe character and world designer for the iconic 1990’s Playstation game “Parappa The Rapper”. Electronic music is another one of his passions. For more info visit whimsyload.com.
Robert Stark is joined with Francis Nally and Brandon Adamson to discuss his new novel Journey to Vapor Island.
Topics:
Brandon’s review of Journey to Vapor Island(Contains Spoilers)
The cover art by Mark Velard
How listeners to the show will instantly recognize favorite topics when they make cameo appearances in the book or manifest themselves as part of the underlying themes
Internet memes in the book(ex. the men in the frog masks)
The fusion of genres including Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, and Dark Comedy
A disclaimer that this book is not for anyone that is squeamish about sex or easily shocked or offended
Brandon’s observation that the sexual scenes in the book are more akin to the “random battles” in old school Super Nintendo RPGs like Final Fantasy IV
The theme of how central sex is to people’s motivations, and the overall perception of status in society
The main character Noam Metzenbaum who is a socially inept yet intelligent student with illusions of grandeur
The Chads and the theme of the nerd getting revenge against bullies and the popular cliques
Noam’s crush Natalie Bloom and his lifelong obsession with her
The Retro-Futuristic surreal fantasy world in the book; an adult Never Ending Story
The Roger Blackstone character who could represent a Trump-like figure, but could just as easily be a Ross Perot or even Willy Wonka
The outrageous comic elements in the book
The theme of the commercialization of tragedies and the celebrity status of mass murderers
How the book is timely with the ongoing Hollywood sex scandals
The theme of living in ones fantasies and how that shapes the book’s narrative
Robert Stark, Sam Kevorkian, and J.G. Michael talk to Illustrator, Photographer, Video Game Designer, and Musician Jody Coombes. Check out his music under the label Star Noir on Facebook and bandcamp, and his photography and illustrations on Flickr.
Topic:
Working on video games including Call of Duty and Need for Speed
Cyberpunk games such as Shadowrun and Beneath a Steel Sky
The New Retro Wave and Darkwave genres
The Cyberpunk genre How To Make Synthwave Retrowave with Timecop 1983 in FL Studio
The visual component in making Synth music
Jody’s first EP Psycho City
Jody’s first-ever gig in London at the Retro Future Fest
Jody’s illustrations and 80’s Retro-Futurist aesthetics
80’s Action and Horror films
80’s Video Game Arcades; London Trocadero
The new series Stranger Things and the film Drive
Jody’s photography of locations including the UK, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Nova Scotia Sinofuturism
“Design is not art….. Design is an exercise in psychology” Robert Stark’s Paintings which fuse Retro Futurist genres
Transhumanism, Automation, and the Basic Income
The Pilot project “Lost Future” about a man who lost his future
Upcoming projects and performances
Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Game Designer James Ernest. He is the owner and founder of Cheapass Games
Topics:
James’s background as a professional juggler
How James got started with game design, his start start with MAGIC: THE GATHERING, and starting Cheapass Games
Self Publishing as a basis for game design
Kickstarter fundraising for games
How the narrative is more important and challenging than the mechanisms
Casino games
Games based on novels
The game UNEXPLODED COW
The game FISH COOK
The game KILL DOCTOR LUCKY inspired by Victorian Murder Mysteries
The game BEFORE I KILL YOU, MISTER SPY which was originally “Before I kill you Mister Bond”
The game GIVE ME THE BRAIN and the sequel LORD OF THE FRIES
The game PENNYWISE
The game FALLING
The most recent game TAK
Pulp games like American Idol CCG, Looney Tunes CCG, LandyLand, and Sailor Moon Crystal Dice Challenge
The adult themed game XXXenophile
The artist Phil Foglio who James collaborates with on games
James’ comedy film The Man Between
Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater spoke to Musician, Artist, and Web Designer Dino Olivieri from Turin, Italy.
Dino Olivieri has been known for producing some of the most technologically advanced websites. Her creativity is always on display when she’s at work, proving to her clients that she is the very best. These days, she tends to outsource this work and sends it over to an SEO Company Chester. But her music is at the very heart of what she does.
Uploading content to these social media platforms is a great way for Olivieri to get his music heard from people all over the world and with just a click of a button. His next step should be to consider uploading his songs to music streaming sites like Spotify, and he may want to have a look at getfans.io/buy-spotify-plays to see how he can get more people to listen to his music. The more people that are aware of his music, the more likely he will be at getting discovered, resulting in his career taking off.
Topics:
Intro: Beyond Human
Early artistic inspirations, figure drawing, and aesthetic interest ranging from Italian Renaissance Art to Anime, Vaporwave, and Cyberpunk
Interest in anime, especially the giant robots created by Go-Nagai and Matsumoto’s work such as Captain Harlock
Italian Design
Dino’s Photography of the Italian Alps on Flickr
Early musical influences; early 80’s New Wave and Italo Disco
Influences from and use of classical music in his work
Japanese Composers Joe Hisaishi, Kenji Kawai, Kento Masuda, and Sakamoto
The new Singularity Album which is for a theatrical show created by Director Raffaele Lamorte
Movie Soundtracks; Vangelis’s Soundtrack for Blade Runner
The Singularity album cover; posters for the films Neon Demon and Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange
Dino’s upcoming album which has influences from Synthwave, Retrowave, and 90’s Dance Music
Dino’s illustrated novel “Di Undici Foglie” and his upcoming novel “Legend of the Starlight”
Dino’s video game Over The Net from 1991; comparisons to Leisure Suit Larry
Outro: Sex Surrogates and Jealousy
Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview writer and game designer Ken St. Andre. Ken St. Andre created Tunnels & Trolls, the second oldest roleplaying game ever. He blogs at Atroll’s Entertainment and has a Twitter.
Topics:
St. Andre’s introduction to Dungeons & Dragons, his creation of Tunnels & Trolls Deluxe Tunnels and Trolls and it’s Kickstarter Campaign
“The second-person narrative,” Choose-Your-Own-Adventure game books, and the solo adventure St. Andre wrote for T&T
The Mythic Game Master Emulator by Word Mill Games, “single-player role playing games”
Fighting Fantasy, Fabled Lands, Jorge Luis Borges, Zoë Quinn’s Depression Quest.
Wasteland, video-games Andre was involved with
Buffalo Castle, Agent of Death
How to write a second-person book or solo-adventure
Robert E, Howard, Gene Wolfe
St. Andre’s blog and his photography MetaArcade’s Tunnels & Trolls Adventures
Pilleater’s upcoming gamebook about Sea Slugs “Sea Slug Love”.
Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and Brandon Adamson talk to Leisure Suit Larry Creator Al Lowe
Topics:
The music from the game
1981’s Soft Porn Adventure
How Al wanted to make a comedy game
The main character Larry Laffer
Larry as a loser and sleazy, but guys can relate to him probably more than they would want to admit
How young people today are able to identify with the character of Larry through their online dating adventures
The fan song feel like leisure suit larry
Al’s point that the game is not about the “sleaze” but a satire
The portrayal of women in the game who get the upper hand on Larry
How the early games had only text and no voice for Larry
The Adult Video Game genre and nudity in the game
How the old Larry games were difficult, and you could actually get stuck if you forgot to do something or ran out of money, and there were totally unpredictable ways of dying. In some cases clues were very minimal
The groundbreaking software innovations of Sierra Entertainment in the 80’s
The aesthetics of the game, Vaporwave and 80’s nostalgia, and Al’s point that he was just going with the style and limited color pallet of the time
Video Games as Art
Brandon’s point that the essence of the game is exploration rather than winning
Nontoonyt Island, the tropical setting in Leisure Suite Larry 2 which has been transformed into a resort
The Casino Aesthetic, City of Lost Wages, and “Ceasars Phallis”
How in Leisure Suit Larry 5 (1991) there’s a “Tramp International Casino” which is clearly a reference to Trump and now Trump is president The Alicia Silverstone look a like in Leisure Suite Larry 6
The process of creating a character
“Save Early, Save Often”
Rumors that Glen Quagmire from Family Guy was based on Larry Laffer
The Planned Leisure Suite Lary TV show in the 80’s with Sony
The Leisure Suite Larry Calendar
The Leisure Suite Larry look a like contest
The Reloaded Edition
Sierra’s Game “Kings’s Quest”
The Game “The Manhole”
Al’s game Torin’s Passage
The effects of political correctness on video games
Al’s free daily jokes at his Humor Site
Intro Song: Love & Science (feat. Paul Humphries from the Concrete Pop Album
Dean’s background in music and his original band 3D the band
Influences from electronic music from the early 80’s including Gary Numan and Tangerine Dream
90’s influences including Front 242, Nine Inch Nails, and Skinny Puppy
The New Retro Wave genre; FM-84
Darkwave Minimal Wave Records
The hybrid sound of 80’s Synthwave and 90’s Industrial Music, and the trend of fusionism
Performance at Zigfrid von Underbelly in London
Band of the month for Artefaktor Radio
Dean’s vocals, and Cye Thomas who also does vocals for the band
The use of the Korg MS-20 Synth
The aesthetics of the album covers Dean designs, fusing Brutalist and Industrial imagery with bright fluorescent colors Brutalist architecture, Trellick Tower, The Underground, and Centre Point in London, John C. Portman Jr., and the revived interest in Brutalism
Cyberpunk, the London Trocadero, and 80’s arcades
Victorian era Railway Stations in London
Urban exploration and dead mall enthusiast
Economics and political themes in music
The de-industrialization of the UK Depeche Mode’s Where’s the Revolution
The marketing and consumption of music on the internet
The band’s new album Post Democracy from live performances
