Posts tagged Oregon
The Backlog: Civil War Edition
Dec 3rd
Image by friend of the site Brian Gundell
I don’t care who you are, if you’re an Oregonian, this is a weekend you care about. It’s Civil War weekend, and as proud (if a bit underemployed) alumni of the University of Oregon, all three of us have a side to take in the game. Good luck getting much done in Portland tomorrow between noon and 4 pm, and god speed to anyone driving south on I-5 from Portland who isn’t going to the game. I don’t think it hurts us to take an excessively pro-Ducks stance, so here goes:
LET’S GO DUCKS!
We do have the usual Backlog content to go with the heaping of school pride, though. Nick’s been stabbin’ fools in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Doug’s tackling some single-player games passed over during the year, and Aaron has been finding a balance between work, games, and the Wasteland.
Interview: Dan Teasdale and Heather Wilson of Harmonix Music Systems
May 12th
Editor’s Note: This interview was originally conducted at Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in Portland, Ore. on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Rock Band 2 lead designer Dan Teasdale and audio producer Heather Wilson brought Rock Band 2 to Ground Kontrol’s Rock Band Tuesdays for one of the game’s first public play sessions.
Sasquatch writer Doug Bonham conducted an in-depth interview with Teasdale and Wilson that sheds light on the creative process at Harmonix, from catering to fans to picking the perfect songs to release as weekly downloadable content. Although originally published on Doug’s blog, he’s graciously offered to repost it here. Despite taking place months ago, there’s still plenty of insight to be found from two of the people responsible for one of the top music game franchises on the market. Enjoy!
Let there be rock – RB2 fires up for the first time at Ground Kontrol. (Photo by Doug Bonham)
Rock Band 2 is almost upon us. The game’s developers, Harmonix, had a large presence on the show floor of the Penny Arcade Expo – the line to play the game was usually at least a half hour. While fans got their hands on the game for the first time at PAX, a lucky group of gamers in Portland, Ore., got a special treat when the sequel was demoed Tuesday, September 2. Ground Kontrol (511 NW Couch St., Portland, Ore.) played host during the regular Rock Band Tuesdays to Harmonix’s Dan Teasdale, lead designer of Rock Band 2, and Heather Wilson, audio producer for the company.
Teasdale and Wilson were kind enough to agree to an interview with myself, Nick Cummings, and one of the lead volunteers in running Rock Band Tuesday, John Leslie.
The Backlog, Vol. 2 – “Oh hey, is that the sun?” edition
Apr 18th
Rain’s no stranger to Portland — it’s something you just have to come to terms with if you’re gonna live here — but I’m completely done with this relentless cloudy-rainy shtick Mother Nature’s been pulling on us. Thankfully, the sun’s eager to demonstrate that it hasn’t forgotten about us, and with any luck we’ll finally get some decent weather this weekend. If that’s the case, Aaron’s gonna have to fight me tooth and nail to get any game-playing done.