Originally published on Pixelitis.net on June 24, 2014.

I may be in the minority when I say this, but I think most open-world games don’t handle all of their sidequests really well.

You’ll get a handful of interesting ones sometimes, and then the rest will be monotonous drivel that requires the collection of some arbitrary amount of wolf pelts to appease a generic quartermaster.

Ever since CD Projekt RED announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will mark the series’ first attempt at creating a full-blown open world, I admit that those same woes about repetitive sidequests have been a worry on my mind.

Yet after watching the latest hands-off demonstration of the game earlier this month at E3 2014, I caught up with Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, the director behind the next Witcher title to rap about sidequests, along with other aspects of the game.

You could say this is a sequel to the interview with Tomaszkiewicz at last year‘s E3.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on February 11, 2014.

He is known as the self-titled Corgi King on the Internet and officially as the Editor-in-Chief of Destructoid, but you can now add another title to Dale North’s resume: videogame music composer.

North is no stranger to music, having done a fair assortment of arrangements for OverClocked ReMix over the years. His biggest breakout to original game scoring came last year with the release of Dragon Fantasy Book II, a 2013 indie RPG developed by Muteki Corporation for PlayStation 3 and Vita that serves as a throwback to classic 90s JRPGs. The digital and physical versions of the official soundtrack were released via Scarlet Moon Records in early January.

Since his busy schedule involves constantly traveling all around the world, he needed to get a little inventive with managing his time composing the soundtrack. This included drilling a hole into a miniature keyboard that he could in his carry-on luggage so that he could write during a flight.

Curious about how one manages to juggle a big-name gaming site with composing and remixing videogame music, I decided to reach out to the traveling composer/editor to find out a little more about his work.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on January 15, 2014.

One can slam at the freeplay arcades.

One can also jam at the MAGFest concerts.

But rare is the time when you can slam and jam along with the developer Tales of Game’s (sic), the team behind the 2008 indie title Barkley’s Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. The ToG devs were out in full force showing off Barkley 2 — their kickstarted sequel.

Funded back in Dec. 2012, Barkley 2 still has a ways to go before it sees release on PC, Linux and Mac. Even so, the team had a pre-alpha build of the game running on two laptops at their MAGFest booth… and then some. There was the cyberdwarf body pillow, which was hanging off a curtain like laundry being aired out to dry.

And there was a mysterious curtained-off area where a fellow only known as “The Wizard” was guiding attendees through the character creation process.

So needless to say, it was typical Tales of Game’s.

After trying my hand at it and getting repeatedly swarmed by mutated sewer creatures, I got to chat a bit with Barkley Gaiden creator Eric “cboyardee” Shumaker about the game and how the post-apocalyptic cyberpunk basketball RPG came about.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on January 9, 2014.

Like many festivals, MAGFest 12 is full of things to do, whether it’s attending a plethora of game music concerts or roaming the vendor and arcade areas in search of new experiences. If you did the latter, chances are you came across a pack of dedicated Mega Man fans that were marathoning the classic Capcom series for a good cause.

Half Empty E-Tank’s second annual Mega Man-athon took place during the entirety of MAGFest 12 and ended up raising $3,193.10 in donations, with $1,305.68 going straight to Child’s Play. Those who donated were able to amass a healthy collection of digital albums from videogame music artists like Mega Ran, The Megas and X-Hunters.

I got a chance to catch up with Half Empty E-Tank main man and marathon organizer Bryan Belcher and find out how things have improved in comparison to last year’s event. Hustle on over to the video after the break.

Chiptunes don’t translate to a vast orchestral piece as easily as one might think.

Performing a videogame composition once and then looping it for another go may be passable in some venues, but in the case of an orchestra playing the widely cherished The Legend of Zelda series soundtracks, there needs to be an added level of pizzaz to spice it all up. With The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, this includes selecting tracks that best represent specific games and tying them into a movement that tells that game’s story.

Producers Jeron Moore and Jason Michael Paul have spoken passionately about the formation of the show, so it only seemed fitting to continue along and talk to Chad Seiter, the symphony’s orchestrator. You might know his name from some of his film and TV composing work for Lost,Fringe and this year’s Star Trek game.

So, with two previous Zelda Symphony concert viewings under my belt and a third having occurred this past Aug. 10 at the NJPAC in Newark, NJ, I set out to interview Seiter to talk Zelda arrangements, underrated game soundtracks and his recent work with OverClocked ReMix.

And for the impressions of someone witnessing the show for the first time, check out Maxwell’s write-up here.

It might be a while until next March for Square Enix’s highly anticipated sequel Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. But it’s never too early to get psyched for the inevitably awesome musical composition of the soundtrack.

That hype undoubtedly got its kickoff at E3 2013, where it was revealed that lead composer Masashi Hamauzu would enlist the help of Boston-based Video Game Orchestra to orchestrate the Square Enix RPG soundtrack, due out in Japan at the same time as the game’s release on Nov. 21, 2013.

Being familiar with the symphonic rock band thanks in part to their stellar performance at PAX East this past March, yours truly got the chance to chat up VGO lead guitarist Shota Nakama. We discussed the upcoming release of Lightning Returns, delved into Nakama’s videogame music origins and even picked his brain about his favorite JRPG battle theme.

Hit up the interview past the break, and if you’re the type to enjoy an audio companion, the entire interview I conducted with him is also featured in the newly-released Episode 52 of the Pixelitis Podcast, starting at the 48:40 mark.

On June 12, 2013, several miles away from the insanity of E3, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses celebrated its 50th performance on at the Greek Theatre in LA.

To mark that momentous occasion, I sat down with producers Jeron Moore and Jason Michael Paul to talk about how the desire to bring Zelda music to a concert hall came about, as well as how certain facets, such as the construction of the setlist and their ongoing relationship with Nintendo fared.

Forging bonds, creating an interconnected web and developing fellowships that test boundaries. Sounds like something out of Lord of the Rings, but it’s the real time work of some of the people who work to make Capcom-Unity what it is today.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on July 1, 2013.

Despite getting wrapped up in all the hubbub of E3 2013’s second day, several attendees (myself included) still had it in them to mosey over to LA’s Greek Theatre for The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, which would be performing its new “Second Quest” set that night.

Considering how the symphony was celebrating its 50th show with this performance, and with videogame music maestros like Tommy Tallarico and Shota Nakama in attendance, it was truly a night to remember.

Although most of my first E3 experience this year involved hurling myself at every game and appointment I could get my hands on, I did manage to squeeze in an interview or two. And if I was going to do at least one, it had to involve The Witcher 3 in some capacity.

Following CD Projekt RED’s behind-closed-doors gameplay presentation of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I had the pleasure to chat with the game’s director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, brother of Senior Quest Designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz (whom I interviewed way back at PAX East ’12), about the game’s development, lessons learned from The Witcher 2, the upcoming Xbox One and PS4 and the interesting dynamic that he shares with his brother when making games.

Have a gander at the interview past the break. For more witchery, read up on my preview of The Witcher 3.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on January 14, 2013

While most of MAGfest XI entailed me nerding out during videogame music cover bands, meeting new people and attending some fantastic panels, I did have the honor of interviewing veteran game composer Kinuyo Yamashita of Castlevania and Mega Man X3 fame.

Kinuyo and I chatted about a bunch of things, including how big videogame music has gotten over the years, her influences and style for some of her more well-known compositions and the official answer regarding that “Neon Tiger” track from Mega Man X3.

Originally published on Pixelitis.net on April 13, 2012

The PC version The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings received so much praise when it came out last May that even President Obama got it as a gift from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. It also got my pick for 2011 Game of the Year, so when I saw the 360 version being demoed – naturally, I had to play it.

After getting some hands-on time with the Polish-made gritty fantasy action RPG myself, I got to interview Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, the senior quest designer at CD Projekt RED.