Category Archives: Video Games

Robert Stark interviews Montgomery Markland about his movie Malibu Road

1960's, 1970's, 1990's, acting, aesthetics, Aldous Huxley, Alfred Hitchcock, Alice in Wonderland, American Culture, Ancient Greece, Architecture, Art, Banking, Beatniks, Beverly Hills, Buddhism, California, capitalism, Carl Jung, censorship, Cinema, conformity, Conservatives, Conspiracy Theories, Consumerism, coronavirus, Corporations, counterculture, Culture, David Lynch, Despair, dreams, Drugs, Economics, Enter The Void, Film, Film Noire, Gaspar Noe, Hinduism, History, Hollywood, horror films, Hunter S. Thompson , Literature, Los Angeles, Malibu, Malibu Road, Matthew Pegas, Media, Mid-Century Modern, Montgomery Markland, Mulholland Drive, Mythology, Philip K. Dick, Philosophy, Photography, Political Correctness, Politics, Prostitution, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Sexuality, spirituality, Surrealism, Terence Mckenna, Texas, Tiki, Timothy Leary, Travel, Twin Peaks, Vice, Video Games, William S. Burroughs, Zoomers

Robert Stark and Matt Pegas speak with filmmaker, Montgomery Markland, about his film Malibu Road, which he both directed and starred in. Malibu Road is available to watch for free on Tubi, and for purchase on Apple TV and Amazon. While the pandemic delayed Malibu Road’s theatrical release, Montgomery has further plans for multipicture deals.

“Fast living Los Angelenos are targeted by the Central Intelligence Agency during Operation Midnight Climax, part of MKUltra. The experience takes a turn for the deadly during New Year’s Eve 1960 and now a professor, a starlet and the workers at a hotel with a questionable reputation must rediscover reality or be trapped in an endless cycle of sex, drugs and murder in ‘paradise.'”

–Malibu Road (2021) IMDb 

Montgomery Markland has an idiosyncratic resume. Originally from Dallas, Montgomery was a state and local reporter in Austin, worked in the Texas state legislature on policy, was  then a producer, president, and CCO at a number of video game companies, before working in Hollywood. Follow Montgomery on Twitter.

Topics:

Applying videogame design principles to Cinema
The Meisner acting technique
MKUltra connections to university professors and Hollywood (eg. Irvin Keshner)
Timothy Leary’s prediction that video games had the potential to recreate psychedelic trips
The History of the Albatross Hotel in Malibu and connections to Old Hollywood
Cinemaphotographic techniques used to capture the psychedelic aesthetic
Distorting reality in stories as representations of dreams (eg. traumnovelle), and influences from David Lynch
Influence from soap operas, telenovelas, and 90s Cinemax
The set design, recreating the aesthetics of the 60s and 70s
Influences from Jungian archetypes, as well as Ancient Greek, Hindu, and Buddhist mythology (eg. Timothy Leary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead)
Hunter S. Thompson
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo
Malibu Road’s filming locations, including Malibu State Park and Will Rogers State Historic Park
The politicization of entertainment, and why overtly political conservative media fails
Reasons to be optimistic about opportunities in entertainment via niche markets
The Banking crisis, Economic Death Spiral, and narratives of collapse

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Robert Stark interviews Rodney Alan Greenblat

aesthetics, animation, Anime, Art, Buddhism, Comic Books, Culture, Francis Nally, Japan, Japanese Culture, meditation, Music, Philosophy, Rodney Alan Greenblat, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 is the 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. 

Topics:

Intro: Warm Oatmeal Starship
“Parappa The Rapper” which was both a video game and an anime
The art behind “Parappa The Rapper”
Artistic influences ranging  from Dr. Seuss to animation to modernist art
The popularity of Rodney’s work in Japan
Rodney’s book Dharma Delight: A Visionary Post Pop Comic Guide to Buddhism and Zen
The philosophy of Rodney’s work; “Thoughtful fun”
Rodney’s comic Thunder Bunny
Rodney’s electronic Music
Designing the set for the band Puffy
THE RODNEY SHOP in Catskill NY

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks about his new novel Journey to Vapor Island

 Mark Velard, 1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Alicia Silverstone, alienation, Anime, Architecture, Art, Brandon Adamson, Class, Clueless, comedy, Consumerism, Culture, Depravity, Despair, Donald Trump, Ellliot Rodger, Erotica, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Film, Francis Nally, Futurism, Gender, Harvey Weinstein, High School, Hollywood, Homosexuality, humor, Incels, Journey to Vapor Island, Leisure Suit Larry, Literature, Loserdom, Love, Memes, Patalliro!, Pepe the Frog, Psychology, relationships, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Serial Killers, Sexuality, Social Rejection, social status, Spree Shootings, Surrealism, The Crush, Utopia, Vaporwave, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Musician Jody Coombes of Star Noir

1980's, 80's music, Absolute Valentine, aesthetics, Art, Asia, Asian Culture, automation, Basic Income, Blade Runner, California, Cinema, Cities, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Depeche Mode, Dystopia, England, Film, Film Noire, Florian Renner, FM-84, Futurism, History, Hong Kong, horror, horror films, Industrial Music, J.G. Michael, Japan, Japanese Culture, Jody Coombes, John Carpenter, Las Vegas, Leisure Suit Larry, London, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Perturbator, Photography, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Sam Kevorkian, Science Fiction, Star Noir, Stranger Things, Synthwave, The Summoner, Transhumanism, Travel, Vaporwave, Video Games, Wilderness, William Gibson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Game Designer James Ernest

aesthetics, Andy Looney, Art, Board Games, comedy, Cosmic Encounter, humor, James Ernest, Phil Foglio, Pilleater, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Italian Musician and Artist Dino Olivieri

1980's, 1990's, 80's music, 90's music, aesthetics, Akira, Anime, Art, Art Nouveau, Asia, Asian Culture, Blade Runner, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Daft Punk, Dino Olivieri, Europe, Film, Florian Renner, Futurism, Ghost in a Shell, Italo Disco, Italy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Leisure Suit Larry, Literature, Music, Neon, New Retro Wave, Photography, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Stanley Kubrick, Synthwave, Transhumanism, Vaporwave, Video Games, Wilderness

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.

His website is Onyrix and you can check out his work on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Vimeo, and Youtube.

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


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Tunnels & Trolls Creator Ken St. Andre

aesthetics, Art, Board Games, Culture, Ken St. Andre, Literature, Photography, Pilleater, Tunnels & Trolls, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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”.


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark talks to Count Isidor Fosco about creating New Retro Futurist Sub Cultures

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Alicia Silverstone, Alphaville, animation, Anime, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Batman, Blade Runner, Cinema, Cities, Comic Books, Count Isidor Fosco, counterculture, Culture, Cyberpunk, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Europe, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, Helen Slater, Homosexuality, Identitarianism, Israel, Italo Disco, Japanese Culture, Kaze to Ki no Uta, Memes, Mid-Century Modern, Milo, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Music, New Retro Wave, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, Sarah Michelle Geller, Sexuality, Steampunk, SWPL, The Crush, The Legend of Zelda, Toronto, Trolling, Urbanism, Vaporwave, Video Games, Will McBride, Winona Ryder, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to returning guest Count Isidor Fosco.

Topics:

Retro-Futurism and it’s sub-genres
Whether Retro-Futurism and fusing past genres can evolve organically or end up being a “cut and paste”
Merging an Aristocratic or Traditional Genre into a Futuristic one
How fusing genres is most effective when there is a distance in eras(ex. Art Deco and Cyberpunk, Baroque and 80’s Retro-Futurism)
How futurism overlaps with the archaic in architecture(ex.Arcology)
Steampunk; Victorian era Train Stations in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan, and shopping centers inspired by European shopping arcades
The Toronto Eaton Centre in contrast with the Underground City in Montreal, which is more Retro-Futuristic
Why “Decopunk” Deserves to Be Bigger than Steampunk
The Art Deco revival during the New Wave Age
Batman: The Animated Series, Batman & Architecture, and Anton Furst’s visions for the Aesthetic Of Gotham City(1989)
Alicia Silverstone in Batman & Robin and playing piano in the film The Crush
The aesthetics of Mishima: a Life in Four Chapters and the manga Kaze to Ki no Uta
New Retro Wave, Italo Disco, Falco, and Alphaville’s Forever Young and Big In Japan
The “Vaporwave” Babylon Club from Scarface which was featured in Miami Nights 1984’s Early Summer
How we are in post-post modernism and must rebuild cultures from scratch
Subcultures based on ethnic and cultural identity; cultural and ethnic fusionism(ex.Asian Aryanism)
How the future will either be mass global homogenization or forming new cultures from scratch but there is no returning to the past
Asian and Israeli Aryanism as memes
Count Fosco’s hierarchy of fetishes

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Leisure Suit Larry Creator Al Lowe

1980's, 1990's, Alicia Silverstone, Art, Brandon Adamson, comedy, Culture, Donald Trump, Erotica, Family Guy, Gambling, humor, Las Vegas, Leisure Suit Larry, Loserdom, Mid-Century Modern, Music, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Pornography, Sexuality, The Manhole, Vaporwave, Vice, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Robert Stark interviews Musician Dean Clarke of Brutalist Architecture in the Sun

1980's, 80's music, 90's music, aesthetics, Architecture, Brutalism, Brutalist Architecture in the Sun, Culture, Cyberpunk, Dean Clarke, Depeche Mode, Donald Trump, Economics, England, FM-84, Free Trade, income inequality, Industrial Music, John C. Portman Jr, London, Music, New Retro Wave, Pilleater, Retro Futurism, Synthwave, Vaporwave, Video Games

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to musician Dean Clarke. He does vocals and electronics for the band Brutalist Architecture in the Sun based in the UK. Check them out on Facebook and YouTube

Topics:

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


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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!