Last weekend we were at the PlayPublik festival in Berlin, hosted by the amazing Invisible Playground. It was a blast, and we got to showcase a new version of Idiots attack the Top Noodle! We also tried to showcase one of our new creations: The Puddle Peddler. I say “tried” because we just could not get it running. Like with any other technology; when you add layers of complexity, the risk of failure increases. But though we didn’t get to showcase it at this Festival, we are making it ‘sturdier’ for the next. Still, read the concept description; it’s quite an interesting game.
Nifflas has been hard at work transforming the B.U.T.T.O.N. soundtrack into a standalone EP.
He just finished! And of course it’s fantastic. We’re so excited to release it to the public. We’ll be selling the EP along with the full game, which we’re releasing for both Xbox Live Indie and PC (Windows) very soon. Stay tuned for more info (you can also follow us on Twitter).
For now, here’s a sneak peak of one of the tracks, “Kissing Another Player”:
Yes, it’s actually true, players have been known to kiss each other while playing B.U.T.T.O.N. – especially when playing the game in “Naughty Mode.” Man, you should have been at Dajana’s birthday party earlier this year when we playtested that mode for the first time…
Maybe you recognized the strings melody sample? It’s from the Zelda 2 main theme! Specifically, it’s from this orchestral cover (~1:52):
I’ll resist making the obligatory “I AM ERROR” joke here. But goddamn that game was difficult! My friend Jon and I re-visited and beat the game the summer after high school. And yes I’m still pretty proud of that achievement.
(Thanks to Matt for reminding me about this song!)
Norbury has worked with some other top-notch ambient artists like the Boats and Library Tapes. If you like the material above, also make sure to check out his work with Le Lendemain, and his recent collaboration with Andrew Hargreaves.
The second release, Light in August, Later, by Japanese artist Aus, is a little more electronic in nature. But as Boomkat put it, the album could indeed be mistaken as an “unofficial sequel” of sorts:
Lovely stuff! Perfect listening as the summer quickly begins to fade away…
A stunning rendition of Mogwai’s legendary “2 Rights Make 1 Wrong”, off the band’s new live album, Special Moves:
The archetypal post-rock anthem. Highest possible recommendations!
Boy do I have fond memories seeing Mogwai live at the Fillmore in San Francisco, in 2004-ish. Go see them live, if you ever get the chance. And you may want to bring ear plugs… they play the loudest show I’ve ever attended!
The whole EP is being given away for free! Get it here. (as seen on the ISO50 blog)
The last track, “Grandma’s Words / Rise Out Of The Stone”, is the standout. I was really moved by the spoken intro – a sobering reflection on Japanese-American internment as practiced by the US government during World War II. The segment, apparently recounted by Saginaw’s grandmother, includes this timely warning:
Fear… does a terrible thing to people. It can change to hate, it can change to discrimination of all kinds…
