Saturday, September 29, 2012

The First Radio Show, and an Interview with "The Stanley Parable's" Creator, Davey Wreden

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but due to work ramping up with upcoming midterms, and all of my extracurricular activities, the blog has been put indefinitely on hold.  I might upload my review of Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master soon, but school work comes first.  

However, one of my extracurriculars is my new radio show on Georgetown University's radio channel, WGTB.  Named "Natural Double d20's," the show features my two friends and I discussing games, movies, and other facets of nerd culture, as we would on this blog.  The links to our Facebook page, as well as the WGTB website, can be found below.  (Click on the "Listen Live" button on WGTB's main page to access the channel.)  The first show premieres at 7PM EST tonight (9/29), and features my co-host and roommate (Jackson Sinnenberg)'s favorite game music.  If we you want to keep listening to our show, it will be on Saturdays, from 7 to 8 PM EST.



Yeah, it's pretty much like that.
However, tonight's show is also the premiere with our first interview.  Specifically for the show, I interviewed a variety of people involved in nerd culture, including Edmund McMillen (the creator of Super Meat Boy), video game songwriter and internet celebrity Brent "brentalfloss" Black, and, tonight's interviewee, Davey Wreden.  Mr. Wreden is the creator of the fantastic Gary's Mod game The Stanley Parable, which involves you controlling a generic man named Stanley as he goes about his day while an official and (at times) quite sarcastic and deadpan narrator tells the player what is going on.  But beyond that, the game is about choice and the reasons we do things.  The player can follow the narrator's orders, or they can do whatever they wish.  But don't expect the narrator to be happy about that.  The game can be found in the link below (as well as a YouTube walkthrough), and I highly suggest taking a look at either of them.  As a person who loves ruminating on man's intuition and the choices we make and the concept of "free will," I thoroughly enjoyed this game.  
It is up to you to decide what is right or wrong.
In the interview, Mr. Wreden not only explains things like the concept behind the game, but also his influences, and even how he met the infamous "Narrator."  Today is also his birthday, so we would like to consider this Mr. Wreden's birthday present!
The Man Behind the Myth.
Mr. Wreden Also gave us a playlist of his favorite game music, as well as the music from the game.  We have also provided the links.  

  1. Everything in its Right Place - Radiohead (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nn6rtTgeKU&feature=fvst)
  2. Dead Already - Thomas Newman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sWll2mqPD0)
  3. Pink Batman - Dan Deacon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ44w-tfSbo)
  4. Wind Garden - Mario Galaxy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HpyOkKWpCM)
  5. Build That Wall - Bastion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U)
  6. Little Furnace - Sword and Sworcery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbF6IgAllKY)
  7. Sticker Brush Symphony - Donkey Kong 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J67nkzoJ_2M)
  8. The Road of Trials - Journey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdG-e_Joc8Q)
  9. Aerith's Theme - FFVII (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CK2hx377iU)
  10. The Royal City of Rabanastre - FFXII (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvW9KQ5vu8Y)
  11. Title Theme - Metroid Prime (this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42u0KB6f5eU)




IMPORTANT LINKS:

The WGTB Website
http://georgetownradio.com

Our Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/groups/257787470921694/

Link to the Interview with Mr. Wreden

https://www.opendrive.com/files?OV8zMTk2NjgyX2h0enAx

Where to find the mod:

http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-stanley-parable/

Mr. Wreden's Website:

http://www.galactic-cafe.com

YouTube Walkthrough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblvOhnv2k0