Arzette is now available. A 3 year journey, this has
@dark1x
on level design, myself writing & codesign, &
@thedopster
making his first game. Among the voices are many familiar faces. Support us & make sure this loveletter to the 90s is only the beginning!
People are focused on E3 as a reveals platform but the true loss is the actual networking & business that took place there. Shitty marketing awards shows & a super curated trailer reel in summer will never make up for the many opportunities lost with in-person events going away.
Coming soon to the
@digitalfoundry
shop, the Leadbetter Sleep Better Set. Want to wake up like me and have *that* look welcoming you to a new day? Or hug rich as you fall asleep and count pixels? Soon you can!
Finally we can talk about this one! I am the producer and co-writer on this amazing CD-i Zelda successor from
@thedopster
! For all you fans out there, this is gonna be an amazingly fun adventure, that plays better than your wildest dreams!
A spiritual successor to a pair of infamous fantasy adventure titles, Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore is a NEW interactive animated adventure! Developed by
@thedopster
, published & funded by
@LimitedRunGames
. Coming 2023.
#LRG3
Pretty cool when your dad just randomly drops off a PVM TV he found in a random garage lot and says “this is one of those old tvs you kids suddenly want right?”
Today it is exactly 1 year since I was brought in officially onto the
@digitalfoundry
team. It's a bit hard for me to find words to thank all of you for your incredible support, but to put it simple, the team and the fans, changed my life & made me better and happier than ever.
As announced on
@digitalfoundry
's new weekly news show I've officially signed on to become part of the team and produce content and other fun upcoming stuff under their banner. Thanks to everyone for their support of my guest appearances over the years.
I talked about this on a podcast recently and dug up pictures but it is true, I had a wrestling match with Nobuo Uematsu and it was way more intense than you’d think. He wrote the foreword to my book too
After years of searching, a dream has come true. I am now an owner of a B&O AV5 with a built in CD-i player. One came up for sale so
@dark1x
and I knew it was finally time to fulfil the prophecy.
Rather than aggressively explaining people how NFT wouldn't blindly work as an cross game interchangeable item, we should be kindly explaining to them how to go fuck themselves and take their NFTs with them.
Today is 5 years since my debut on
@digitalfoundry
with Bubsy. When this was made, I was in a dark place. Letter written, completely given up. An invitation from
@dark1x
, support from
@almalexiel
& the response to DF Retro Bubsy saved my life.
One of the worst things all digital/subscription services has done to entertainment is make it disposable content to just binge, consume and fart about on socials. Preserving, restoring, enjoying film and television is always best via physical mediums. Gives you personality too.
✨ Hideo Kojima’s Closet Picks ✨ The pioneering video game creator
@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN
throws a spotlight on treasures of 1950s and ’60s Japanese cinema—including Nobuo Nakagawa’s JIGOKU and Yasujiro Ozu’s TOKYO TWILIGHT, with a shout out to the beloved star Setsuko Hara.
When I see people post pictures of their recent physical purchases it makes me so happy. When I hear someone say "I'm digital only" I politely but firmly ask them to leave my physical house.
Arzette has many voice cameos, including the one and only
@VinnyVinesauce
who did an awesome job. We'll reveal more of the guest crew over the coming days.
Some folks are saying we're making it difficult for Chrono to return and that we should just be happy we get anything. NO, you doorknob, nothing shows passion for something more than holding it up to the highest standard and expecting more. This ain't it.
I'm not an official member of DF, but they're family & the stuff I see "fans" post baffles me & makes me really angry. If it was up to me we'd just be playing Lucky Luke CD-i.
@digitalfoundry
@dark1x
@Dachsjaeger
@cataferal
@wsjudd
are the best in the biz, treat them nicely
"It's so comfy not having to get up from my couch to change my disc and I still own everything I paid for, stupid Nordic man" they say while this is a weekly occurrence. Digital only is a plague somehow welcomed with open sedate arms.
I’m not in a good place mentally these days and I’m sorry this is affecting my ability to reach out as much. I’m supported by wonderful people and doing alright and everything will be fine. It’s something that hits me randomly in life and I’ll be back on my feet.
Was finally able to source and snag an elusive get I been wanting for years, World Heroes 2 Pro in box! It's a Famicom pirate game where you can fight as Leonardo, Goku, Haggar, Sonic etc and it sucks ass. Couldn't be happier! (not my copy in photo, mine hasn't arrived yet)
Streaming and digital only has devalued pretty much every form of art from music, movies and video games, just to make it into binge content for cloud bros, but hey at least we can just sit in our couch and avoid physical activity to change between things.
One of my biggest pet-peeves lately with game music is that physical releases are usually restricted to vinyl. As someone who has collected VGM cds since 1991, its frustrating to either have to buy a big vinyl or digital. Please have a limited option for CDs at least, vgm folks!
I guess it's time to reveal that I am one of the producers on the brand new
#Turrican30th
collection for
@RealStrictlyLTD
, very happy to be helping the team and
#Factor5
making this an amazing collection!
@dark1x
and I are also producing the documentary!
If you are a member of the
@digitalfoundry
retro tier on Patreon today, you get the early access to our 3 HOURS long episode covering every single launch game for the Playstation! The biggest DFRetro ever made!
9 years ago today, I got a phone call informing me that one of my best friend had left us. Days prior, we spoke via Skype about meeting up again. Umemoto Ryu was not just one of the greatest composers of all time, he was the most giving, wonderful person I ever met. #梅本竜
I’m probably busier than I ever been in my life these days so I have very little time to check in here at the moment but I just want everyone to know that I’m happy. I feel happier than I’ve felt in many years and I hope soon I get to share lots of news on what I’m up to.
I get to work with
@LimitedRunGames
making dreams come true, and I get to work with
@digitalfoundry
living out my dream of playing video games and having fun. Life's kinda cool sometime.
I’m knocked out in bed and too tired to share all stories from gamescom, but I did want to quickly highlight the incredible
@digitalfoundry
patrons who gathered to meet us. It was incredible to meet fans again and it made realise how lucky I am to be a small part of DF.
So there's a joke in here that says you can make it look "nicer*" but let me actually tell ya, I spent over 10 months restoring and editing images for this game, and the end result will look pretty damn good in 4k. There's a little video in the game explaining the process.
John and Jane return in September.
Pre-orders for Plumbers Don't Wear Ties: Definitive Edition launch this year (for real).
Don't miss this classic romantic comedy adventure—with new special features—or the inspired novelization from
@pressrun
&
@MikeDrucker
coming this fall!
Well it finally happened. I was recognized from DF randomly in my little hometown. Life's hard when you're so well known as "That guy, from uuuuh, that youtube channel, what was it again... You like Bubsy right?"
So last year
@dark1x
and I did a "2019 retro pick up" video where we listed our favorite gets of the year. Would you guys be interested in a 2020 edition? Covid made retro hunting very different this year but we did get some good backlog games nonetheless.
Love your friends, love your family, love your coworkers, and give 'em all a hug today. Cause like I just experienced, suddenly you lose someone dear forever and can never show them that love ever again.
Why do so many digital only folks parrot this lie that most games released physically are incomplete and therefore validates their hollow purchasing rights? Did they watch Fox News and just say "yeah that's what we gotta do to convince people!" It's been disproved again and again
Sometimes when I see digital-only people with kids, I tell the kids they are unwanted because they take too much space & waste too many resources, planting the seed early so they will reject their awful parents' influence & form meaningful bonds with their physical media to rebel
Celebrating 10 years tonight with
@Almalexiel
. She’s stuck with me at my worst, celebrated my best, and never told me to stop buying expensive Bubsy memorabilia. True love exists and always worth working out the bad times to enjoy the good.
This was the biggest undertaking
@dark1x
and I ever took upon ourselves (for now) and one of the best experiences I’ve had creating content. Watch the marathon version of the PlayStation Launch DFRetro on
@digitalfoundry
now!
I was asked by
@digitalfoundry
to put together a list for GOTY so here it is! I hope you see some stuff you haven't heard of before. Was a ton of fun to make and edit, so let me know if you enjoyed it.
Just found out someone I've known for over 20 years unexpectedly passed away from an accident. In shock in trying to process but as a reminder, keep your friends and loved ones close and keep in touch with them even if for a simple hello.
I have the best friends, colleagues, family and fans in the world. Thanks to everyone who reached out recently. I said I was going to be fine and I am feeling better thanks to y'all. I am very humbled and won't let any of you down.
There was a digital only gamer at our party yesterday boasting about how mobile he is and how he never has to leave his couch, I told them to go home and attend from discord since their physical presence was unnecessary and taking up space.
I have friends and even family in Ukraine, and I am deeply upset by what is currently going on. For those of you closely affected, you have my entire heart and support. I hate guns, I hate war, I hate conflict.
There's a thread on ResetERA for
@digitalfoundry
appreciation (Thanks to everyone for nice comments) but I am stunned no one mentioned the peak of the channel being me dressing up as Santa and making
@dark1x
play Phoenix Games. And Rich allowing it, 12 days in a row.
At the
@LimitedRunStore
grand opening, I met Steve from
@GamersNexus
which marks the first real life meeting between DF and GN I think? Of course I forgot to take a picture but I can confirm his hair is long and he smells quite pleasant.
Wave Race 64 has one of the most perfect soundtracks ever in video games, perfectly compliments the gameplay and atmosphere it sets out to achieve. And it’s just an awesome racer.
If you wanna know about the origins of Arzette, our CD-i successor , the design philosophies for creating a fun game from a lesser source, why
@limitedrungames
were the only ones that could make this game happen, this is the interview for you!
This is out to the public today!
@dark1x
and I worked really hard on making this the best possible video it could be, and I got to nerd out with my love for Star Wars writing it, while John continues to up the production values to an insane degree.
DF Retro is back! This time, the focus in on the Super Star Wars Trilogy for Super NES and how it brought about a renaissance for the entire franchise in the gaming space - and beyond:
Make sure you check out Final Vendetta from
@BitmapBureau
today, it compliments TMNT really well with a slower more heavy hitting gameplay, and of course
@dark1x
and I did some voices for it.
It's Final Vendetta launch day! Grab a mate and dish out some pain to the Syndic8 gang on the streets of London! Available for Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation 4 / 5, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One and Steam. 👊
Feeling much better today and most symptoms have wavered off. Feels good man. Now go get vaccinated if you haven't and be cool like me and millions of other cats.
I am completely overwhelmed and touched by the support and praise for the latest
#DFRetro
episode with
@dark1x
. This is actually the second video I edited and it has lots of personal career stories.
I been knocked out by a migraine for almost 2 days and I wake up to the worst news possible. RIP Near. I had the pleasure of speaking with them a few times over years, but I wish now I had been more involved and could help out more knowing what they faced in life.
Man, I’ll say it again, I don’t get why modern video game music doesn’t have a cd option. “Oh that convenient format you collected for 30 years? Nah boomer only digital or vinyl which most people are gonna play on tinny usb tables anyway.” Just make some cds so I can support!
It is my dad's 65th birthday today and I ate cake. After a day of sad news within the industry and having made a mistake at work that I keep beating myself up over, it was a nice and much needed reminder to take a step away and just re-focus sometimes.
My heart's been hurting a lot reading so many close friends recount their increasing experiences with racism and anger. Fuck racism and fuck hate crimes.
#StopAsianHate
We celebrated my dad's 66th birthday this weekend with love, good food and a warm nostalgic time together. I cherish these days as everyone is getting older and I realize how lucky I am to have y'all in my life.
Speaking of love, let me make something else clear as well.
🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈♥️
Despite not being quite 40 yet, today is actually the 21st year of me working in video games (I had a small internship at Funcom that started on the 28th November 2001). Since then I did lots of things no one cares about. My mother is very proud.
Perplexed by all the comments saying Super Star Wars was our best yet. Don't get me wrong, we LOVED doing it & I always set out to write what I see as the definitive docu on any given topic, but the feedback has been, shall I say, of GALACTIC proportions.
I'm spending a well deserved Sunday with beautiful people and good food, feeling good and excited about some upcoming stuff. So it bears repeating: Fuck NFT. Fuck it.
The "Looks like Flash" argument is such a tired and lazy criticism of 2D game graphics. High resolution assets rather than pixel based sprites does not a flash game make, people. I pretty much dismiss any review or opinion that makes use of it.
I'm gonna share a few production notes from the latest
@digitalfoundry
Mortal Kombat episode here since there was so much stuff assembled for it.
When I made the sprite comparison chart, I planned to have
@dark1x
pan slowly over each sprite with Chinese Ninja Warrior.
Sometimes I invite people who I know only buy digital games over for dinner. But when it is time to be served their plate is empty, just like the validity of their game ownership.
Sorry I been quiet lately. I see my DM filling up but basically been dealing with seasonal depression and ulcers lately so after finishing work I step away from computers and phones. Everything is good, just always get hit hard this time a year. And yes I take D vitamins.
I see some people took my joke a bit too seriously yesterday about "kicking them out of my house" if they are digital only. Obviously I would not do this.
I wouldn't be friends and invite them in the first place.
I had a meeting today for my day job and only seconds into the meeting, the dude on the line went "Wait... is this Audi from DF Retro? That's so cool! Do you actually like the CD-i?".
I'll never live this down.