Pac-man_Chunk_MIX

As the name suggests, Pac-man is the focus here. Pac-man deserves his recognition, I mean he has set the highest bar on video game stardom, and has become insanely novel and iconic.

These reasons though are not why I decided to generate a mix of a Pac-man song. But don’t get me wrong! Pac-man, with my love for video games is certainly on my top five, especially because he pertains primarily to the arcade genres.

If anybody has ever played Playstation, I would hope they came across Pac-man World, which earned the honorary, green banded “Greatest Hits” title. It’s a great game if you haven’t played it, also very challenging. Besides the game play, graphics, and characters that strike me, the music really stands out. From the beginning pirate level tunes, to the mysterious temple music, the tracks are extremely well composed. The third world, which is set in space, always had the best music, but what game doesn’t have good music to go along with the space levels anyways? The first level’s music is sooo good, it has slap bass, spacey synthesizers, and a gracious techno vibe.

Give it a listen, but skip ahead to 0:24, that’s the level and song I sampled.

So I sampled the song, and I usually use my “Tascam Linear PCM recorder,” which basically is a handheld, battery operated dual headed microphone. It’s great for “field recording,” or recording audio in a large space, like a live performance or lecture hall. So I turn on the game I want to sample (this case being Pac-man World) then I’ll set up the microphone level with the speakers, but not too close. I’ll set the input levels and start recording live game play, which to me is more… I suppose… natural, getting the song, sounds FX, and sometimes the sound of the buttons mashing on the controller. I take whatever I can get, not just the song, because to me it’s more of a sample of “my” game play, not somebody else’s, no Youtube “rips”. I then I placed the sampled song out on my computer, sliced it into pieces and bits, organized it along with any other sampled percussion from my sample library that I have collected as well.

Here’s my mix then, Pac-man_Chunk_Mix

I’ll soon be posting it on Soundcloud as well, though in due time. Feel free to download the track from my Bandcamp!

Dungeon Time! (Working title)

Though I would post up some snippets of me and my brothers most recent project Dungeon Time! (Working title).

The game basically follows the essence of many old dungeon crawling experiences, by old I mean precursor 2000’s. You collect treasure, kill hordes of enemies, gain levels, and collect magic, same old bullshit. We are taking a slightly different approach to the usual sword and shield affair, instead we have a collection of classes that pertain to modern-day jobs or professions. As you can see in this prototype class select screen, there is a gardener, banker, chef, builder, and dealer (cards, not drugs you dirt bag). So the builder, shown in the later screen shots, throws hammers. While the card dealer tosses cards, with a special ability to throw an ace every once in a while, causing critical damage. The chef would throw… I am not even sure, carrots? spatulas? Who knows, but you get the point, classes are based on relatable professions. This seems a lot more silly, but we promise it to be as fun as any other dungeon crawling experience. I don’t want to give too much away at this point, just feel free to peer at these in-game screen shots. We should have a short demo available for download in the coming months, so if you have a wired Xbox controller, or compatible PC joystick then your set to play our demo in the near future.

Art: Newest page on Spicy-Jamb.com

Art. <-<-<- Check out the link to view many of the pieces of art I have conceived over the years. Some old, many new, I had no reason to keep them under wraps for so long. There is also concept art and pro-types for my newest board game project.

Like it or not! There it is.

364, 365… 370… 412….. 504…………..

If you like the classic dungeon crawling experience Gauntlet. Take a look, you’ll learn about my experiences…

364, 365… 370… 412….. 504…………...

364, 365… 370… 412….. 504…………..

Many hours, days, weeks, months, and a few years have subsided throughout my life. This is obvious though, I am alive, I am 23, and time is said to exist. I commonly try to utilize time as best to my ability, and like everybody else I fall into modes of tired, no good, lazy, unproductive, blah like attitudes. This is in fact normal, to some degree, it seems unnatural to have a fast forward, can do attitude 24/7. My point is… people waste time, and that’s okay! People just need to unwind and realize that their minds become dry, tired, and in need of rejuvenation. From this moment I assume this blog post can go in many directions, I am sure that if you have actually read this far  then you may want some clarity. Here, let’s just say a common human being is going about their day… They wake up, pamper up, usually go to school or work, eat, come home to relax, and maybe do some hobbies of theirs. I can only assume that MOST people live in such a way, and I certainly do as well. I go (went) to school, go to work, eat, come home, relax, and then usually do things I enjoy. And if you have read any of my previous posts it is clear that I take part in various forms of gaming (video games, board games, game creation…).

So video games, let me hit that on the head, I and many others on any given day will pick up a controller and play a few games here or there. May it be the hottest new title, or something near and dear from way back when, us gamers need our fix. I tend to pick out older games, old school titles if you will, and I commonly pick out a game that maybe I have not taken down yet. I like to think of classic games as a “list of nostalgic importance,” or more clearly, games I would play when I was younger. And when I was of young age I certainly did not conquer old titles as much as I would have now-a-days. For example, as a child the “idea” of Bomberman was fantastic, I loved the game but, I just wasn’t nearly as committed to it as I am presently. So actually as of recently I have beaten most of the Bomberman titles and am continuing to do so. For better words, “commitment” is a great way to put it.

At this point I can reveal my most recent “commitment,” and I initially always tell myself, “this game, will be finished, with all entirety…” I wish now I haven’t let myself come to such terms, what if the game really fucking sucks, or ask myself, “how much of my life is going to dust.” It may sound like I am driving myself to insanity, but it’s not like that, I feel as though I can be conscious of when to take a step back and realize what the hell I am doing with myself.

Though… maybe this time around I went completely blank.

Gauntlet, more specifically Gauntlet II, has been my most recent expedition. I would hope most individuals have heard of the title, seeing as it had sprouted many of today’s popular dungeon crawling experiences.

Screenshot from NES version. (the one I played)

May it be Gauntlet one, two, three, four, genesis variation on four, PC variations, Dark Legacy, Seven Sorrows, arcade versions, NES cartridges… (probably missed like 70 possibilities…). Seems that Gauntlet pretty much holds on to its name. That being, four player hack’n’slash, hundreds of monsters, treasure rooms, and “[insert character here] needs food badly.” We should all take notes on the title(s), being the predecessor(s) to our dungeon exploring cravings, it placed structure upon today’s most popular titles.

*Shot from NES Version

You would be looking at a screen shot from Gauntlet II on the Nintendo, it is one of many Gauntlet II titles. Yes, Gauntlet II specifically, the game originally was an arcade cabinet, and with increasing popularity had reached the homes of many counsels alike. So I talk about the second installment, and that’s because it was in-fact the one I decided to play. I ran the game through “Nestopia” which is an emulator for the NES. I had done this because if I was playing a Nintendo I would not be able to save my progress. Not that the original Nintendo system did not support a saving feature, just because this game specifically did not save. I needed to “save state” in order to keep control of my sanity and not play Gauntlet for days on end. Okay, so at this point it seems that I have made clear that I had spent “valuable” time investing my life into this game. I shouldn’t go out and say, “invest my life,” I would play a few levels here, few levels there, maybe take down like twenty at a time or so. If your new to Gauntlet, or are completely oblivious to its concept, I’ll make something clear… there are A LOT of levels. I mean hundreds, some even more! Though, the end can always be reached… I think…

…I started this game probably a year ago, and actually stopped playing it say, a couple of months ago. Thinking to myself, “I love Gauntlet, but I never reached the end of one…”

I always loved the pink floors in some levels.

So with my spirits high and “commitment” set, I had at it. I probably made most of my progress throughout the first few nights. The game, having no music, and its poor sound quality started to get to me, although most people would supply their own tunes or turn the sound off; I wanted to keep the nostalgic vibe, if anyone understands. Regardless… I felt accomplished after level 100, and no not “leveling up” to level 100, but traveling to the physical “level 100.” The game supplied minimal stats, you could pick up extra speed… armor… strength… magic… yaddaaaa… After a while the view following my character on-screen could not keep up with him due to the amount of “extra speed” power-ups I obtained. Oh, I should have said this earlier… I picked the red wizard, who was better with magic, or using potions that were picked up to clear enemies on-screen.

Onward… level 120, level 146, level 189…! LEVEL 200! Nope… after level 100 not being the last, beating level 200 and then seeing level 201 on was discouraging. Although, I kept going, and I had more reasons than it being a commitment at this point.

I did, before I started, do a small amount of internet browsing and read a sort-of “game FAQ or walk-through.” From what I read, Gauntlet II, for the NES certainly had an end to it. This is what kept me pushing on, level by level, monster by monster, treasure room by treasure room…

Those shadowy bars across the floor are unbelievably obnoxious. I am not sure if it’s the damage done or the sound it makes.

One day I reached, I’d say… level 380 something… so I thought, “okay, 400 is it, and if it’s 500… god damn it… I’ll be sure to reach it.” I of course reached level 400 and… nothing. Level 401, another level with… hey…wait… this level… looks awfully familiar… I recall a level that had teleports, and the teleports for whatever reason would always send you exactly where you didn’t want to go. So upon reaching “level___” …I don’t even know anymore, I came to realize that I was once again faced with this mother fucking teleport level. It was hindered by a different color scheme, same exact setup, same enemies, same items. I then thought about how many levels I could have very well completed already… I was sick at this point, I then proceeded to the game FAQ once again and read some information that didn’t quite correlate with the info I had discovered before even playing the game…

As said in the newly found information, the game does not end… the levels keep repeating, some get mirrored, flipped, wrapped, or get a slight change in hue… there was even a large picture showing all the possible types of layouts for all the levels formed. My supposed “research” before taking into the dungeons of Gauntlet proved horribly incorrect. It makes me wonder if someone out there did that to fuck with someone like myself, it almost seems so.

Pertaining to the beginning of this post I talked on behalf of people commonly wasting their time throughout their days. I had clearly lost this “precious” time, maybe because the game doesn’t end or just the fact that I was playing a video game. Who knows… I am over it now, and I think it’s pretty hilarious. The only commemoration I deserve is the fact that I did NOT die. I swear, and it wasn’t like it was terribly hard to survive. Unlike other installments of the game, this one seemed to be slower, had fewer enemies, and food was supple. So positive vibes I suppose, I lived through 500 plus levels, with my character and my sanity in tact.

Even if you still think video games are a waste of time, then I can understand your reasons. I actually gave you an extremely good example of video games as a waste of time, hours spent… nothing obtained. This can though apply to anything, people smoke marijuana, waste time staring at each other, then eat a bunch of food. I do support this too though, and getting to my whole point is that ANYTHING can be a waste of time. You can think I conceived this post because I want to make myself feel better for wasting so much time playing games. Yes… no… maybe… I enjoy my video games, and I can only assume other gamers enjoy their games. So don’t waste your time! Enjoy it, in any sense, utilizing your time is relative, subjective, and personal.

So if you want to play Gauntlet II… don’t try to find the end. You won’t. Though Gauntlet 4 or many of the others (like the Ps2 ones) do indeed hold an end.

Enjoy your games people.

My Life in Hell: Initial “DOOM” Synopsis

So I believe that I have revealed in my last post that one of my all time favorite games of all time is the “Doom” series. These installments of games have held me captive in deep, dark polygon like mazes for hours. It was probably only up until about 4 or 5 years ago that I started to get really into the series of games. I also have to clarify that I primarily am speaking in regards towards the classic “Doom” games, considering that I like to indulge in older retro classics. That being said, I can never really figure out why I became so connected with these retro shooters, maybe it was just the nostalgia and memories that hit the right chords of my interest.

I very descriptively recall making an attempt to play these games as a child, or well like 12 or something years old actually. When I say “attempt”, I mean I had sort of fear of these games to a certain degree, I used to jump and curse when I saw a pink demon sprinting out of a corner, though I was always kind of pussy as a younger lad. I do also believe that the music may have got to me as well, the minimal yet terrifying old school sounding drones and guitars playing alongside the slow and subdued drums. Actually now that I think about it there is a certain something or maybe even a vibe that emits from old games that still to this day gives me some quivers. With my flowery vagina to the side, “Doom” was one of the games that I always tried to get an illegal download for on my gorgeous Gateway 98. As a younger boy I used to spend hours upon hours just searching for any kind of game. I would take and download anything I could get my hands on, software, shareware, and the best finds were always FREEWARE. Hence “free” means I can get the whole game! FOR FREE! Though “Doom” certainly was not freeware… I always knew about “Doom” when I was younger, considering I used to watch my dad play “Wolfenstien”. And who didn’t know about “Doom”? It was the biggest thing since sliced bread considering it set the bar for basically every other shooter to this day. So I searched and searched for this “free” download for “Doom”, always to be greatly disappointed with demos and trial versions of the games. I just remember playing even the demos and falling head over heels for these classic shooters. Giving up was not an option… I set out for more countless hours of searching and basically giving my computer type two diabetes from all the viruses that these “freeware” and “shareware” files were boasting. My computer was falling apart, I could barely even run the demos of the games anymore. I then actually became better at fixing and maintaining computers in this sense, regardless, downloads can lead to disaster. And I must also point out, I was like 10 or 11 years old, I had no conscious notion of torrents or any related programs, I mean come on I was using “Kazaa” and “Limewire” to download music, the leading causes of cancer in the cyber world. Well, besides all the beating my computer did take I finally came across some random website that hosted a FULL VERSION download of “Doom II”. God damn it was I happy, and I could finally play past the first episode! There was so much for me to see and explore now!

Considering my admittance into the “Doom” craze, I wasn’t very good at it. I don’t even recall beating the game entirely when I was 12 years old, I just remember skipping to certain levels just to see everything the game had to offer, I mean it was still great and I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time, and this was how it was for most games I played in that era. I learned of the notorious “God Mode”, cowered in fear from the endless fleet of pixellated enemies, and viewed and desecrated John Romeo’s (one of Id’s head programmers) head perched upon a stick. I love the aesthetics as well, from the high level of detail punched into each monster. I always loved to ponder the fact that these artists had to make each individual view of each monster. As seen in the following picture each individual view is produced to replicate a sense of 3D (considering the monsters were 2D sprites).

These were reasons I fell in love with the game, and from then till now I have become well versed and immersed in the “Doom” culture.

Now a days I seem to pick this game up all the time, it is consistently being played throughout my life span. Some times I won’t even have certain reason to play it, I just have at it I guess, just “being in the game” is enough to please my palette.

Though besides relaxing and having a cup of tea alongside a few hours of “Doom”, I do get serious about it. I have completed all three of the classic installments of “Doom”:

Doom I

Doom II

and Final Doom

And there are many newer installments to the series, which actually I have only completed “Doom 3” for the original Xbox and PC (though not the expansion). I just wanted to cover ground on the originals, the ones who set the table.

Now, when I mean I get serious about the games all I mean is that I plunge into the in and outs of the entire game. This of course includes completing these titles, on top of that I will be wary to be sure and get all of everything the game has to offer. Now if you are good friends with “Doom” you should know that at the end of each completed level you are prompted with percentages. These percentages calculate total Kills, items found, and secrets. It gives you the time it took you to beat the level, along with a set par time you can shoot for. I have nearly got 100% on all Kills, Items, and well maybe not secrets, but those are of the highest difficulty to achieve in my eyes. I have also kept track of my progress in a notebook, with all of the percentages, times, deaths, and saves for each level. I won’t post my stats just yet for they need to be organized accordingly for my next post, so I’ll soon have those up if anyone cares to see my progress. So until then happy gaming folks.