Interview by Simon Roger Key

After working on EA’s flawed but hugely enjoyable AAA title, ‘Mirror’s Edge’, at DICE, what interested you about working on an independent game?

When I started out, after completing work on ‘Mirror’s Edge’, I wasn’t really looking to get heavily involved in something. I was merely looking for something to do, whilst I took a breather from the industry. But after working on DE for more than a year, it had grown far beyond what I had originally conceived the project to be. The turning point for DE was really when Dan and I went to Valve, to see if we could get a license to use the source engine commercially and launch DE as an indie game. However, we only really began discussing that idea – of taking it to digital distribution – because of the positive feedback we received from the online community. For the first year of production, working on DE was quite relaxed; we didn’t have deadlines so I was predominantly working to my own standards and schedule, which proved to be a very welcome, change of pace. But creatively, there is nothing like being in control of your own work, being more than just a small cog, in a big corporate machine and that’s what DE represents, artistic freedom, which in part, was afforded to us by the good people at the Indie Fund.

What was it about “Dear Esther” that attracted you to the project?

Originally, I stumbled upon DE whilst looking for inspiration during my year off. But what intrigued me about the game was its use of narrative and character, it was trying something different and it engaged me without really trying, even evoking emotion, which is unusual in today’s market, which is more concerned with adrenalin and ‘fist-pumping’ action. DE presented an opportunity to take what was a rather plain looking game and give it the love and attention that it deserved, so that its visuals matched the power of the games narrative and soundtrack. And selfishly, it was a game where I didn’t need to worry about weapons or characters, the environment is the game’s most natural protagonist. But ultimately, my decision to invest my time in DE, was motivated by my desire to work on a game, which was purely artistically driven. The issue of the game’s viability as a commercial entity was almost an afterthought.

Genre & categorization is a big part of marketing a product, whether it’s a videogame, film or book. Does “Dear Esther” defy classification & if so what are the implications of marketing something, so significantly ‘alternative’?

DE can be categorized quite easily and in fact we had to do just that for classification on Steam. But I think it’s most natural genre is as a First Person Adventure/Role Playing game. I don’t think DE defies classification, we’re not trying to make a new genre, we’re just attempting something new, in a genre which has become so heavily associated with space marines, soldiers and mindless shooting.

As far as marketing DE goes, we’re not claiming to be redefining the FP genre, we’re just presenting an alternative to the standard FP game. Some people will want to play it, others won’t. The problem is, when you think of FP games, your [typical] first thought will be of a gun and war. The perspective has become so interwoven with war, that it has become difficult for people to see beyond that convention. The fact that DE, doesn’t feature guns or puzzles, is in fact our own unique selling point, hopefully people will be encouraged to play the title because of the ‘alternative’ experience. Just don’t play it expecting cross hairs, explosions or an option to take-off and detonate a nuke from orbit.

“Dear Esther” looks fantastic! How long did it take to create each level and to arrive at this highly polished version?

I started pre-production on DE in 2008, whilst I was still working at DICE, so it’s taken about four years in total. Each level [on average] has taken six months to complete, but there was a big gap between going from alpha stage to getting the license from Valve and then porting DE to the ‘Portal 2′ engine - Valve’s newest engine. Porting DE took far longer than originally expected. I thought it wouldn’t take much more than a month, but it ended up taking a year!

The level design in “Dear Esther” is exceptional, but is there a particular level that you are especially proud of?

Technically, the last level because it features a vast open environment, where almost everything is visible. The source engine was [technically] designed, for small outdoor areas and indoor environments only. To pull-off that final ascent, up DE’s ’Beacon’, involved several tricks and a great deal of time was spent hacking the engine, but the end result was worth the effort. From an artistic standpoint, ‘The Caves’, because it’s a small, enclosed environment and it gave me the opportunity to be as creative as I wanted, allowing me to pay attention to the smallest details.

Some gamers might debate whether “Dear Esther” is actually a ‘game’. What would you say to those people and what is the purpose of this clearly experimental and divisive title?

This is something both Dan and I get a lot, “is it a game?” We never set out to do anything other, than make a game, we’ve never had any intention to encourage this debate, there’s no doubt in our minds that DE, is a game – it’s just different. It was/is a creative venture, but one which differs from the typical FP game. We have no interest in debating whether it is a game, that’s just something which sprang from the community and the debate about whether videogames can be considered art. With DE our sole purpose was to create something different, which was new and creative.

But do you think “Dear Esther” contributes to the debate for videogames as art?

I think the games as art debate, is silly to be honest, it’s subjective. To some people Tracey Emin is an artist, to others she simply presented her bed to the world – used condoms and all. The problem is that the industry is still in its infancy, it’s still maturing and trying to find its feet. The legitimisation of videogames is largely [I believe], grounded in a desire for gamers to see their favourite pastime recognised by ‘others’ as legitimate. To the same extent that reading a book or watching film is seen as a legitimate way to spend ones time. The playing of videogames is still largely vilified and seen as a waste of time. However I feel about the debate, concerning videogames as art, doesn’t matter, because if DE – or any other game – contributes to videogames being taken more seriously, then that can only be considered a good thing for the industry [at large].

How does it feel to be nominated for four awards at this year’s “Independent Game Festival”?

Amazing! I didn’t even expect to be nominated, especially considering who we’re up against. I would have been ecstatic to receive just one nomination. I was humbled and totally shocked. It’s safe to say I’m very, very excited at the moment.

What’s next for Robert Briscoe?

There’s a lot of stuff I would like to do but it’s all dependent upon the success of DE. I would love to start up my own studio and keep working independently. It’s my dream to do an adaptation of the Russian, science-fiction novel, ‘Roadside Picnic’. The novel was a big influence upon ‘Stalker’, but my interpretation would be ‘Stalker’ without guns. So perhaps DE is the start of a new genre, or a new sub-genre, of games without guns, where atmosphere, narrative and creativity are king. Who knows?

I have no interest, whatsoever, in working on war simulator 4000 or any other generic, First Person Shooter but I’m not averse to doing a ‘normal’ game, for example I would love to do make an old-school, side-scrolling beat-em-up, like ‘Double Dragon’ - if I had the opportunity. I don’t want to pigeon-hole myself creatively, but certainly at the moment working independently feels right, although with that said, if Gabe Newell is looking for a 3D artist for ‘Half Life 3′, then my door is always open.

And finally, what are the games in 2012 that Robert Briscoe is looking forward to?

I’m really looking forward to the new ‘Metro’ game, which is made up of developers from the original ‘Stalker’ and the other game is ‘Far Cry 3′, which looks far more reminiscent of ‘Far Cry’, but without the horrible mutants.

“Dear Esther” is launched on Tuesday 14th of February on Steam and will cost £6.99/€7.99/$9.99. Both Robert Briscoe and Dan Pinchbeck will be appearing at the Independent Game Festival and giving their own presentations at GDC. “Dear Esther” has been nominated for the following awards: Excellence in Visual Art; Excellence in Audio; Nuovo Award; & the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. The winners will be announced on March 7th 2012. Please check back for my review of “Dear Esther”, which goes live at 12:01 (UK time), on Wednesday the 8th of February.

You can pre-order her self-titled début album through her Facebook page here.

Episode 2 – Tango Foam Anyone?

What I thought was going to be a quiet week turned out to be rather busy…

Monday as usual was practice with Escapefrom’98 at Blueline studio’s.  If you read my article last week you’ll know that Blueline studios is run by a chap called Dan Cook. In the next few weeks I’ll be getting an interview with Dan (I haven’t told him yet) and his thoughts on the local music scene and how to get in touch with him.

Currently Escapefrom’98 are due to play the quarter finals of the Dorset Music Awards on the 2nd of March, so we’re pretty deep in strategy and planning. That’s right, we’re actually planning stuff, so it’s going to be a good one! For those that are following the Dorset Music Award’s there is another Punk Rock band (I know, the sheer audacity!) called Pump Action Radio. Nice bunch of guys, and I know the drummer pretty well. We had been chatting and jokingly trash talking each other over email at work. So we came up with the idea of doing some videos and trying to work a bit of friendly rivally into the competition. We have also agreed to support each other should the other band not go through.

At practice we also like to test/sample/experiment with randomly new released products. Food, drinks etc… This week we tested the wonder that is Tango Foam, video here: Escapefrom’98 test’s Tango Foam.

So after practice on Monday (also my good friend Karl’s birthday) we went to The Inferno, awesome bar in the Lansdowne, Bournemouth that caters for students and normal people alike. Jukebox, live music and great atmosphere. Had a drink and called Matt, Pump Action Radio’s drummer and set about our first video.

The first of our little video’s can be seen here: Escapefrom’98 vs Pump Action Radio…..Tango Foam, its got quite a range on it!

Tuesday night see’s Monkey’s Uncle practice at Uncle Pablo’s. Uncle Pablo’s has been going a long long time, and I also hope to do a feature on it in the future. So, more on that later….

Now, as I’m British, it’s my right to rant about the weather, and dear god its been cold this week! The walk to Pablo’s was somewhat brisk to say the least. T-shirt, two jumpers, coat and bass on the back kind of brisk.

Practice was really enjoyable this week, we had a gig on Thursday to prep for (review of gigs this weekend will be on Sunday) and we added a new song to the set called ‘Monkey’

What I love about Tuesday’s practice’s are that we have a great time, play some good tunes and pretty much quote Bill & Ted, Waynes World and many many other awesome 80′s movies!

Wednesday was a night off for me, so off to Tower Park for Pizza Express and Cinema courtesy of Orange Wednesday. If you didn’t know, if your an Orange customer then by texting the word ‘Film’ to the number 241 you get a code which gives you buy one get one free (BOGOF to you sales kids!) on cinema tickets. IN ADDITION, if you go to Pizza Express on a Wednesday you will 2 free starters and a BOGOF pizza deal! It would appear however that you need to ask for this deal, as there is no posters or advertising anywhere.

The Movie of choice was Underworld Awakening 3D…or more to the point Kate Beckinsale, in 3D. The film was awesome actionwise, and the 3D effects were well used and not put in for the hell of it like some films do. The plot…was ok. Fairly predictable but kept the momentum of the film going. I’m not really a movie critic so I’ll let my colleages on the Farm do that, but I enjoyed it, and so did my parents. It was their first 3D experience, bless em!

Thursday was gig day. Home from work, chicken carbonara for dinner and then off to the Cellar Bar in Boscombe to play with Draw Me Ugly. As I said earlier, more on that Sunday.

The Week Ahead…

Friday 3rd – There are alot of gig’s on Friday and it’s difficult to recommend which to go to. The Frequency are playing the Thomas Tripp in Christchuch, Draillion and 101% Pantera tribute are playing Sound Circus, Steve Craddock Band (from Ocean Colour Scene) are playing The Cellar in Portsmouth but then Bournemouth’s very own Andy Stock is playing the Cellar Bar in Boscombe. With a choice like that I cant recommend fairly, so whatever takes your fancy!

Saturday 4th – States of Matter and Empire Affair are playing Champions in Bournemouth, which is always going to be good with that sort of lineup. Also as a side note, Champions will be closing down at the end of February so now is a good time to use it and appreciate it whilst your still can.

James Morrison is playing at the Southampton Guildhall + additional support. Not really my cup of tea, but from what I have read the show is a really good one, and enjoyable to attend.

Lastly there is Discos Out (Alternative Bands In!) at On The Rocks on Beacon Road just behind the BIC. As you may know I play in a band called Discos Out (Murders In!) and On The Rocks are playing host to an event that see’s the bands various side projects take to the stage. To start with you have Powdered Cows (Martin’s band/solo project), Monkey’s Uncle, (one of my other bands), El Bosco (Steve, Ed and Tubbs other band) and finally Escapefrom’98 (yet another of my bands). Obviously I’m biased toward the event, but I think its an interesting mix of musical styles and genres all from people who share a band in addition to their own projects elsewhere.

Bombay Beach
Director: Alma Har’el
Running Time: One hour & twenty minutes
Certificate: TBC

Watching the trailer for Alma Har’el’s second feature, it’s kind of difficult to tell what the film is about. I quite easily determined that it’s an odd, quirky affair, about childhood and growing up and that it features original music from Beirut and songs from Bob Dylan, but that’s about it, for this pseudo documentary. However, the official synopsis goes a little something like this.

Alma Har’el’s film features three protagonists; Benny Parrish, CeeJay Thompson and Red. Benny is bipolar, his vivid imagination and troubled soul creating both joy and suffering for his complex and loving family, who support the young boy. CeeJay is an aspiring football player, who has run away to Bombay Beach, in the hope of avoiding the same fate, which met his cousin, who was murdered by a gang in his former home, Los Angeles. Red, the eldest of the three, is an ancient survivor who once worked as an oil field worker and yet despite his hardships, has an irrepressible love of life.

What makes Har’el’s film such an interesting proposition is its central question, which asks whether these men in their various ages and guises are a product of their world or if their world is a construct of their own imaginations. Which all sounds rather pretentious, but I for one am rather intrigued by this hypnotic looking, whimsy of a film.

Young Adult

So the creative team behind Juno, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, are back together in Reitman’s newest film, which stars Charlize Theron, Young Adult. Out of the majority of Reitman’s films, Juno is the one which I’m most unsure of, it’s that whole ‘independent’ and ‘quirky’ vibe it features, it just feels so obviously contrived (although obviously all film is contrived). Perhaps it’s Michael Cera, but it certainly wasn’t Juno’s parents, who were actually rather awesome.

Anyway, Young Adult sees a recently divorced fiction writer (Theron) return to her small, home-town of Mercury, Minnesota, looking to rekindle her high school romance with her ex-boyfriend, played by Patrick Wilson, who is now happily married with a newborn child. This is an interesting role for Theron, an actress who wouldn’t be my first choice for a comedic role, but clearly she had fun playing the manipulative and headstrong, Mavis. I’m not sure it’ll be as enjoyable as Up in the Air or as funny as Thank You for Smoking, but Reitman continues to make interesting films.

Chronicle

As a fan of Akira, Science-Fiction and the Super-Hero genre I’m intrigued by Josh Trank’s theatrical début, Chronicle. This just turned film director is most famous for his work on American TV serial, Kill Point, which featured John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg. I wish I could say I was optimistic about this found footage, this ‘chronicle’ of three teenage boys who mysteriously develop super human powers (telekinesis, flight, and invulnerability) but I can’t. For one, just look at the acting in the trailer, one word… Hideous!

Basically, we’ll see the three leads go from Joe Average to Joe Dangerous, initially using their powers to frighten and bemuse the local inhabitants of their small town, until one, or all of them are seduced by their powers and begin to use them for ill gotten gains. Let’s keep those fingers crossed, but if you go expecting a film version of TV’s Heroes, you may well be rather disappointed.

Carnage

Who would have thought that 2012 would see Roman Polanksi release a film that I would happily pay money to go and see, particularly after the boresome, The Ghost, but that’s exactly what the infamous director has achieved; I bet he’s thrilled!

Carnage tells the story of two sets of parents, Penelope Longstreet (Jodie Foster), Michael Longstreet (John C. Reilly), Nancy Cowan (Kate Winslet) and Alan Cowan (Christoph Waltz), attempting to have a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a schoolyard scrap. However as time goes by so their behaviour becomes increasingly childish, throwing everything into question, in this drama/comedy from the director of Rosemary’s Baby… exactly what is wrong with the world!? I’m as perplexed as you, but I’m picking this rather quotable Roman Polanski film, as my film of the week! Now, I’m off for a lie down.

You can download Neon Indian here or you can just follow them on Facebook here.

Try out Never from their upcoming Wonky album as well.

You can find them here on their site or follow them here on Facebook.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but when KK Downing left Judas Priest, or Bruce Dickinson left Iron Maiden, those remaining announced that fact, cited whatever reasons they chose and wished them well. What a sad (yet unsurprising) state of affairs when this is not so, when those who have left must announce not only their leaving, but must consider what to say for the future of the band they have just left. Why? Because radio-silence is in effect from one side. Lines of communication are first ignored, then blocked. When those no longer in the loop have to announce ‘on behalf of’ those they have left, and cannot do it on the official page so that everyone knows, they can only reach a limited audience, almost certainly leaving some people in the dark.

Earlier today I received a message from a someone who had not known about Olie, Martin and I leaving The Reckoning. He had found out because Olie’s post of a link to an advert we had put out had (I assume), appeared on his news feed. This is not how a fan of a band, who has spent many a time supporting your efforts, and offering his help should discover such things. All I can do is apologise, since within reason we had done all we could to get the word out, short of writing to a thousand plus people individually. Can you imagine a situation where a member of a band leaves, the remainder of the band don’t mention it, in fact they even take down their website, leaving the now non-bandmember to inform the many fans of the band of both his, and their, future? It is absurd, unprofessional and makes everyone look bad.

Every time I seek to move forward, to leave things behind, something comes up.

Some might call it karma; that I deserve this for being the cause of the problems, for being the cause of The Reckoning going from being a full band to one member in a matter of months, (I know there is at least one person with this view). It isn’t true, but since when did truth really mean anything; well, the truth anyway, someone’s truth has always meant too much.

I want to make it clear once again that I wish Ben and the Reckoning the best. I really do. Being blocked from his page I can’t tell him personally, and I doubt he’ll ever read this. There are always trains headed out the station into the great unknown, this was one I could not be on.

And now for Weather…

Olie, Martin and I are seeking 2 lead guitarists from the Bournemouth/Poole/Dorchester/Swange area to complete the lineup of our new band. Here is a link to one of our adverts with all the information you’ll need: http://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/2-lead-guitars-needed-for-metal-band-t303407.html

Tell your friends!

And now I return you to your regularly scheduled programming…

You can find Lia Ices to download here or alternatively you can just follow or find out about her further on Facebook here.

Developer: DEVSISTERS

Platform: iOS

Price: £1.49

Note: OvenBreak Free is available for no charge but with fewer playable levels

Escape the fiery furnace of an oven as you take the role of a gingerbread man who has to hurdle and duck obstacles in a bid to gain freedom and avoid being eaten! Pick up jelly beans as you run to gain points while gummy bears are worth more.

In another delightful twist you also have to pick up letters to make the word ‘FREEDOM’, these letters give you lives, but you can only hold a maximum of two lives at a time, FREEDOM letters (as a complete word) then also bring bonus points to your overall score.

The controls are easy, just two buttons in fact; the left hand button is to jump and the right hand button is for slide, this then allows you to leap and duck obstacles as you run. Some jumps need you to stay in the air for longer to avoid tripping up. In this instance you can use your candy cane to hook onto objects and slide to safety. To hook onto an object all you have to do is jump into the air and press the slide button – simple enough!

You then have to guide your gingerbread man through various levels, jumping, sliding and collecting points as you flee your way to freedom; and a big high score! At first I thought the game would be too simple to be fun but in actual fact I find it very addictive. OvenBreak is darn challenging in fact!

The game is played at quite a fast pace and the speeds increase as you get further towards the finish. It takes quick thinking and even quicker fingers to complete each level and you will soon find that there is a way to master each jump to gain maximum points. Another great addition to the game is the way that the jelly beans try to trick you into jumping into danger. As you begin to follow the line of jelly beans, picking up points as you do so, you will soon come to find that some of the jelly beans will purposely try and have you jump into a hole – you certainly need your wits about you.

My only gripe is that there are not more levels as I have nearly exhausted the limited levels that the game currently has. I can take solace in the fact that DEVSISTERS have a ‘Coming Soon’ column at the end of the game so I can only assume that my OvenBreak itch will soon be scratched once again. Another point I would make is that £1.49 does seem a little steep for limited levels when there are other games of similar entertainment that only cost 69p – but again, a few more levels will bring value for money.

Verdict: 8/10 – The game is great, if not a little limited, and will provide hours of frustration and entertainment as the fast paced game play provides challenge and fun. A great little iPhone app!

You can download Die Antwoord here, find them here or just follow them on Facebook here.

You can download here and you can also find out more about the band here.

Some of you may have realised that over the weekend we have been having some downtime, this was to allow us to offer faster browsing of our site and related sites along with improving our back end network for our hosted services. There may be some more short term downtime during the evening or overnight as we finalise some changes.

This should allow us in future to provide streamed services to the viewers of The Electronic Farmyard.

If you have any issues or questions, feel free to get in touch with Brad, brad@electronicfarmyard.com

Regards

The Team

Acts of Godfrey
Director: Johnny Daukes
Running Time: One hour & twenty-four minutes
Certificate: 15

The British film, Acts of Godfrey, from débuting director John Daukes, is a black comedy with an unusual twist, it’s written throughout in rhyming verse. A very British quirk and potentially quite an alienating characteristic, not just for an international audience, but a British one too. When Godfrey (God) decides to improve the love-life of Vic he pairs him up with the sexual predator, Mary. However, even with Godfrey’s divine powers the path to true love is a complicated affair, which involves a sexual wonder drug, an unscrupulous conman, two psychotic gangsters, a long-dead twin and a terrible case of mistaken identity.

Now, doesn’t that sound rather… ‘quirky’. It stars a variety of British actors, with Simon Callow as the titular, Godfrey, and a whole host of TV ‘stars’ including; Myfanwy Waring, Iain Robertson and, of course, Harry Enfield. Hopefully, this won’t be as embarrassing as, Sex Lives of the Potato Men, but the trailer doesn’t fill me with optimism.

House of Tolerance
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Running Time: Two hours & six minutes
Certificate: 18

The director of The Pornographer, Bertrand Bonello, returns to the sex industry with his newest film, House of Tolerance, but this time casting an eye over prostitution, in a bordello, set in the early 20th century. House of Tolerance explores the last days of an upmarket ‘knocking-shop’, the ladies who work there and the many dangers they face in their ‘chosen’ career. Bonello’s fixation with sex continues, which in itself isn’t problematic, but in one sequence a prostitute has her face slashed and Bonello (apparently), manages to imply that she got-off on it. This of course, is deeply unpleasant and troubling if accurate. However the trailer with its use of Lee Moses’ Bad Girl, beautiful ladies and cinematography all make for quite the alluring experience, illustrating (at the very least) Bonello’s manipulation of both sound and image and the power (and danger) of the montage.

The Grey

There was a time when Joe Carna-Ham was a director with flourishes of creative flair, but after the enjoyable Narc, everything just went downhill and The Grey, is only further evidence of the director’s awfulness. There was a time, believe it or not, when Liam Neeson did something other than punch people. Shocking but true! So the director of such awful hits as Smokin’ Aces and The A-Team has teamed-up with Neeson to make, The Grey. Not so much a film, but an excuse for Liam Neeson to beat-up animals indiscriminately, which marks a new direction for the actor, who usually chooses his victims discriminately. See the xenophobic trash Taken for proof, it’s the ultimate in moronic action cinema, despite whatever its millions of fans say, it’s rubbish!

Anyway, Neeson and his cronies are on a flight to some oil deal over Alaska when their plane crashes, stranding the band of businessmen to survive in the wilderness. However they are not alone, they are being hunted by a nefarious pack of wolves, who will no doubt pick the group of one by one until there is only Mr. Neeson left. Shucks! As with every Liam Neeson action film you can expect this to be utter nonsense, just look at his ingenious use of miniature bottles – hilarious!

The Descendants

So hot on the tails of its Golden Globe win for Best Picture and Best Actor, Alexander Payne’s newest film, The Descendants, which stars George Clooney (Best Actor… doh!) is released nationwide. And with Clooney starring, I have little doubt that this will be Payne’s most commercially successful film to date, but will it be as humorous as About Schmidt or 2004′s wonderful, Side Ways - “No, if anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!”

Clooney plays Matt King, a land baron and very much the absent father until his wife is injured in a boating accident, falling into an irreversible coma. This finds Matt at the dawning of a new era where he must become the responsible parent and reconnect with his estranged daughters. However this time of grieving is complicated further when it becomes clear to Matt, that his soon-to-be-late-wife, was cheating on him and so the chaos (no doubt) ensues. Watching Clooney play the fool is always a pleasure, he always manages to channel Marcello Mastrianni in Pietro Germi’s, Divorce Italian Style, if you ask me. His fool is always perfectly nuanced and this is definitely my film of the week.

You can find ‘La Lucha Constante’ here on Lefse Records or just follow him here on Facebook.