Podcasts about Black Isle

Earlier this month Lost Cause Brewing, the independent brewery, founded in 2024 by Vik and Colin Stronge, completed a crowdfunding campaign help to bring beer production home to Castleford. So what better time to hear from one of the excellent brewery's founders. Whie Lost Cause Brewing might be new, its founders are no strangers to making great beer. Head brewer Colin Stronge has spent over 20 years crafting beers at some of the UK's most celebrated breweries, including Marble Beers, Buxton Brewery, Northern Monk, Black Isle, and Salt Beer Factory. His beers have poured at the most prestigious craft beer festivals around the world, earning him Brewer of the Year 2022 at our Brewers Choice Awards as well as a dedicated following among beer enthusiasts. And last year we were thrilled that Colin used our Brewers Lectures at the excellent Wiper and True in Bristol to showcase these debut Lost Cause beers for the first time. During his talk, Colin talked us through his career to-date. But more importantly, he outlines his goals for Lost Cause Brewing Co and why sometimes you need a little bit of discomfort to give you that push in life.

Es kommt uns so vor, als wäre es erst gestern gewesen, dass wir über Biowares Halb-Debakel Dragon Age 4: The Veilguard gesprochen haben. Dabei ging der SWP 71 zu diesem Thema bereits im Januar diesen Jahres on air (und Alex muss an dieser Stelle zugeben, DA4 dann leider doch nicht mehr durchgespielt zu haben, seufz). Das eine Spiel auf dem Grabbeltisch, das andere der neue, aufgehende Stern? Und während The Veilguard mittlerweile bei PS+ für Umme verramscht wird (und auch sonst schon auf dem virtuellen Grabbeltisch zu finden ist), scheint für den heutigen Titel der Rollenspiel-Himmel erst aufzugehen. Die Rede ist ...

¡Ni la metamorfosis de estudios podra detenernos!¡Porque es lunes y SpreadShotNews Podcast ya llegó! En este episodio: Maxi termina el Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key y nos da sus opiniones finales, y hace lo mismo con Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. Nico por su parte continúa avanzando en The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. En el Rapid-Fire, tenemos noticias sobre el hackeo de Game Freak, el cambio de jefe de estudios en Xbox, Bandai Namco pasa por un periodo un tanto escabroso (y la ligan los desarrolladores, como siempre), Certain Affinity tiene nuevo dueño y Google presenta un recurso de amparo para no tener que cambiar nada por un tiempo en su ecosistema. Para el Hot Coffee, repasamos los anuncios del reciente Xbox Partner Preview. Para finalizar, en el Special Move, Nico recomienda el anime de Gundam the 8th MS Team y una visita en video a los estudios de Panic por parte de Minnmax . Maxi por su parte nos recomienda el álbum de Jazz/Fusion Flying Beagle de Himiko Kikuchi . Por último, recuerden que nos pueden escribir preguntas directamente a través de google forms en el siguiente link: spreadshotnews.com/preguntas

You've probably had and enjoyed a beer produced by Colin Stronge. Failing that, you no doubt know some that has...And in Spring of 2024 the renowned brewer, alongside his wife and esteemed brand manager Vik Kastenbauer Stronge, launched Lost Cause Brewing Co onto the UK beer scene. We were thrilled that Colin used our Brewers Lectures at the excellent Wiper and True in Bristol to showcase these debut beers for the first time. During his talk, our Brewer of the Year from The 2022 Brewers Choice Awards, talked us through his career to-date. A journey that has taken in stints at breweries such as Buxton Brewing Co, Black Isle, Marble Beers, Northern Monk and Salt Beer Factory. But more importantly, he outlines his goals for Lost Cause Brewing Co and why sometimes you need a little bit of discomfort to give you that push in life.

Gary celebrates the contribution made to Scotland's music by Ian Green of Greentrax Recordings, who passed away this week, and is joined by Ian's friend, pipe maker, musician and promoter, Hamish Moore, who shares his memories of Ian and also tells us all about an exciting new competition he is organising on the island of Raasay.PlaylistGordon Duncan with Ian Green of Greentrax and Mr and Mrs Duncan's Golden Wedding from Thunderstruck. Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band with the Battle of the Somme, the Black Isle, the Banks of the Flossie and the Festival March from Revisited: P/M Iain MacLeod's Selection Niall Matheson with the Sound of the Sea from the Tennent's P/M Donald MacLeod MBE Memorial Competition 2000Dysart and Dundonald Pipe Band with Leaving Lunga, The Shepherd's Crook and The Rookery from Terra IncognitaKenneth and Angus MacKenzie with When Harry Met Shelly from Piob is FidhealAllan MacDonald with Thogal nam Bo from SeudanSeudan with The Rothiemurchas Rant, Alex Currie's, Lord MacDonald, Cota Mor Ealasaid, Hamish the Carpenter, The Margaree Reel (all trad, arr. Seudan, Grian Music) from Seudan, Support the show

Aujourd'hui, on plonge dans le lore d'une des saga chouchou de Jacno ! J'ai nommée Fallout ! Petit point sur la naissance de la franchise au sein du studio grâce aux interview post-mortem de Timothy Cain, l'un des premiers dev d'Interplay et créateur de la licence. On vous résume également les prémices de l'histoire de Fallout 1 et 2. Ainsi qu'une mise en contexte spatio-temporelle des grands événements de Fallout : de la bombe, jusqu'á la Grande Guerre du Commonwealth.Et enfin on vous parle de Vault-Tec et des expériences les plus effarantes établies dans les abris des Terres Désolées. Liens:Twitter/X du podcast: https://twitter.com/AuCheckpoint Instagram du podcast: https://www.instagram.com/aucoinducheckpoint Rejoignez notre Discord: https://discord.gg/aMShNdTBgF  Entendu dans l'épisode:Jacno reco le jeu "Yakuza Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth".Matt reco le jeu co-op "It Takes Two".Sky reco le manga et animé "Vinland Saga".Merci énormement pour votre écoute et votre soutien! Si vous avez aimé l'épisode, laissez-nous 5 étoiles sur Apple Podcast, et faites tourner :) Plus on est de fous, moins y a de riz, et c'est la plus belle façon de nous soutenir et de nous envoyer de la force pour la suite!         Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Gary returns after a week's break with more top-drawer music from the world of bagpipes. There's a taster of two new albums, True North from uillean pipe maestro, Calum Stewart, and the latest excellent offering from the band, Rura, entitled Dusk Moon. From the solo highland piping there are sets from Willie McCallum and from John Walsh, a double duo helping from Fin Moore and Sarah Hoy and from Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton, and a wee trip back in time to the 1970s to the classic sound of Edinburgh City Police along with a solo set from their Pipe Major, Iain MacLeod. Thanks to my sponsorhttps://rghardiebagpipes.com/Tracks Played Calum Stewart with As as Thoisich from True North. Willie McCallum with A.A. Cameron's Strathspey, Donald Ruadh, Wiseman's Exercise, The White Eyebrow, The Piping Poodle, The Night We Had the Goats, MacPherson's Reel and  Inverinate House from Hailey's Song John Walsh with Loch Broom Bay, Toots and Hickory and the Gold Ring from Time to Spare Pipe Major Iain MacLeod with Leaving Glenurquhart, Inveraray Castle and the Smith of Chilliechassie from Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band RevisitedEdinburgh City Police Pipe Band with The Battle of the Somme, The Black Isle, the Banks of the Lossie and Festival March from Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band Revisited Rura with A Minor Emergency from Dusk Moon Fin Moore and Sarah Hoy with Jimmy Mo Mhìle Stòr, Gillun nan Dròbher (The Drover Lads) and Dinkie Dorrian's from The Piper and the Maker 2 – Celebrating C Ross Ainslie and Ali Hutton with Mink from Symbiosis 2.Links MentionedEdinburgh Gaelic School Fundraising Concert, 8th November, details an tickets herehttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thigibh-air-cheilidh-tickets-737953216937?aff=oddtdtcreator&lang=en-gb&locale=en_GB&status=30&view=listingRoss Ainslie, Ali Hutton and Owen Sinclair in concert at Kilmelford, 20th Octoberhttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ross-ainslie-and-ali-hutton-trio-with-owen-sinclair-tickets-700346895417Support the show

Today's Everyday Changemaker is Peter Moffatt, Transition Black Isle trustee and a man behind its website. Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, caught up with him at SCCAN's Northern Gathering in Inverness on the 16th of September. Credits: Interview and audio production: Kaska Hempel Resources: Transition Black Isle https://www.transitionblackisle.org/ Transition Network (worldwide) https://transitionnetwork.org/ Transition Together (Britain) https://transitiontogether.org.uk/ (SCCAN is part of this project/network) Transition Black Isle Million Miles Project 2012-15 https://www.transitionblackisle.org/million-miles-project.asp Million Miles Project in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/sep/23/carbon-cutting-transport-scheme-helping-black-isle-go-green-scottish-highlands 21 Stories of Transition (book produced for COP21), including a story about the Million Miles Project https://transitionnetwork.org/resources/21-stories-of-transition-pdf-to-download/ Highland Good Food Partnership https://highlandgoodfood.scot/ Highland Community Waste Partnership https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/highland-community-waste-partnership/ James Rebanks English Pastoral https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/03/english-pastoral-by-james-rebanks-review-how-to-look-after-the-land Gorge Monbiot Regenesis https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jun/05/regenesis-by-george-monbiot-review-hungry-for-real-change Transcript [00:00:00] Kaska Hempel: It's Kaska, your Story Weaver. What a weekend it's been. Still buzzing after our members Northern Gathering on the 16th of September. I met some amazing people on the day and workshopped all sorts of ways in which stories and storytelling can help us all think about a better future for our communities. As always, there was simply not enough time to chat to everyone about everything. But since I already travelled all the way to the north, I also took time to visit several amazing community groups around Inverness for Everyday Changemakers interviews. And honestly, I can't wait to share those soon in the podcast as well as a wee place based audio tour I'm going to put together for you. I road tested the tour by cycling around the project locations and I think the stories will make for a fantastic way to explore Inverness on a bike, either in person or online. But today I wanted to share my chat with Peter Moffat from Transition Black Isle, which is based on Black Isle, just north of Inverness. As usual, you can find out more about the stories and resources behind this community group from links I popped into the show notes for you. I met Peter at the gathering itself, where he was holding an information stall for his group. And at lunchtime, we stepped outside the Merkinch Community Centre to record our conversation. [00:01:26] Peter Moffatt: I'm Peter Moffatt. I'm one of the trustees of Transition Black Isle. I have been since 2015. I live at the eastern end of the Black Isle, not far from Muir of Ord, two fields away from the Black Isle Dairy, which is a very, it's one of the few dairy farms in the north of Scotland. It has an enterprising young owner who runs a farm shop. [00:01:51] Kaska Hempel: Tell me about a favourite place where you live. [00:01:55] Peter Moffatt: There's a walk we do just round the fields from the back of the house, which goes along at one stage, an avenue of beach trees looking over the fields towards the Beauly Firth. And it's a wonderful view. And it's just walking around the fields, and it's great. The other way we sometimes go is down over the fields to Conon Bridge, and then along the River Conon. There's a lovely old graveyard a mile or two along there, which not many people know about. But it's a wonderful place to go and think about the people who've gone before you basically, and a very pleasant, enjoyable walk. [00:02:32] Kaska Hempel: How come you got involved in community climate action? What's been your journey? [00:02:37] Peter Moffatt: I can't think of anything particular that sort of started me off. I joined Transition Black Isle as a result of talking to somebody at a stall they were running at an event in Muir of Ord, which I think was something to do with a transport proposal and went on from there really. I admitted to the fact that I had worked with computers and I promptly got captured as it were because the person that currently ran the website lived in Aberdeen and wasn't very active. So first thing I did was become responsible for editing the Transition Black Isle website, which i've been doing ever since. I'm not sure how many people actually look at it regularly, but I do try and keep it updated with information about climate change and climate activities and government policy and the council, what the council's doing. I quite enjoy it, but I can't go on doing it forever, obviously. But there's nobody looking... To come and take over. [00:03:31] Kaska Hempel: What about before you joined Transition? Were you interested in climate issues or environmental issues before then? [00:03:38] Peter Moffatt: I can't remember. I've always been interested in the sort of countryside issues. My father was a farm manager, so I grew up interested in farming and used to go and work on a cousin's farm during the summer holidays when I was a student and on the farm at home as well. So I suppose that's interest in nature and the outdoors and I've also been interested in mountaineering all my life. Where there's concern with climate change, I suppose it grew up, as it grew up generally, not very long ago. Despite the fact that people have been warning about it for the last 50 years, people only generally started to take notice relatively recently. I remember being particularly struck by Greta Thunberg's initial school strike for climate as it was when she sat down outside the Swedish parliament. And she was on the website as soon as she did that, and I've been supporting her as strongly as I can ever since. So setting a fine example. I don't know honestly where my personal concern with climate change as such began. Possibly as a result of joining Transition Black Isle. [00:04:50] Kaska Hempel: When I say transition movement, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? [00:04:55] Peter Moffatt: The idea of trying to move from the status quo business as usual consumerist society to a more sustainable way of life basically. And that was the founding idea of the transition movement. When it began in Totnes, how much transition is actually taking place. Some of the ideas that they had aren't really being applied, I don't think. There were transition groups were supposed to have energy reduction plans which would progressively reduce the amount of energy consumed in the local area and change its nature. So it was more from renewables. That's not really happening, which is not to say that Transition Black Isle and other groups, whether they're transition groups formally or not, aren't doing a lot of good work. They are and there's an amazing number of them, but I can't help feeling that for all the good they're doing, you know, merely scratching the surface of what actually needs to be done. [00:05:53] Kaska Hempel: What makes you the proudest in terms of achievements? of Transition Black Isle. [00:05:59] Peter Moffatt: Major achievement was something they called the Million Miles Project which was a project aimed at reducing car use on the Black Isle by a million miles over a period of two years I think the project ran and it was amazingly successful, a lot of support. It actually became the number one story in a book of 20 stories published by the transition movement, I think for one of the COP climate conferences. And we were quite proud of that. Apart from that, recently we are involved as partners in two very important co operative ventures. One is the Highland Good Food Partnership, which grew out of a series of online discussions which were held about two years ago I think. The other more recent initiative is something called the Highland Community Waste Partnership, which involves eight groups throughout the Highlands. Which is led by Keep Scotland Beautiful and is aiming to raise awareness of waste and reduce waste, particularly food waste, in local communities. A lot of good work being done. How widely it's being recognised, I'm not sure. I mean, if you ask your average person on the Black Isle about the Highland Community Waste Partnership, I'm not sure they'd have heard of it. But perhaps that's because we're not publicising it well enough. But there is a lot of hard work being done. [00:07:35] Kaska Hempel: Who or what inspires you personally? [00:07:39] Peter Moffatt: That's difficult. Greta Thunberg for one. Talking about food and farming. James Rebanks. Excellent, fascinating book. English Pastoral I think it was called. He is trying to recognise the sort of traditional values in farming as it ought to be practiced. Involved in the landscape and the countryside, he's in the Lake District, so it's obviously a certain type of land, sheep farming, which some people would say we should do away with, but if it's there, then he seems to set a fine example of how to do it in the right sort of attitude to the land and so on. Somebody else I would mention is George Monbiot, writer and journalist and activist. Everything he says is pretty sensible. Some people are a bit dubious about his idea that we should replace all beef and dairy farming with industrially fermented protein generated from microbes, fed on carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which apparently you can eat.  It doesn't sound, it would be very appetizing, shall we say. But the chances of doing away with the entire meat and dairy industry, which people say we need to do in order if we're going to reduce environmental damage and feed people adequately, is well, it's a big ask and, it's difficult to see how it could ever come about. I was just reading Tim Spector saying the same thing, basically, about the need to drastically reduce the amount of land devoted to producing crops to feed cattle for beef. And we should all be eating more plant food instead. Which is undoubtedly true and unlikely to come about, unfortunately, which is one of my reasons for not being a climate optimist. [00:09:31] Kaska Hempel: Since we're talking about meat and not eating meat, do you have a favourite vegetarian or vegan dish? [00:09:36] Peter Moffatt: I make something which is called by the uninviting name of Veggie Grot. Which is in fact a vegetable it's a sort of... vegetable crumble, really with a sort of cheese and breadcrumbs topping. And it contains whatever vegetables come to hand, lightly cooked in the oven. It's popular with our friends. I take it to mountaineering club meets and they all eat it eagerly enough. I'm not completely vegetarian, i'm certainly not vegan, but the idea of a vegan cheese or vegan sausages, I find difficult to accept. I know they exist. All our sandwiches today were vegan, I'm told. But we don't eat a lot of meat. My wife and I are largely sort of 75 percent vegetarian, I would say, at least. And I like vegetables. I grow vegetables in the garden. And it's very satisfying to eat your own produce. [00:10:25] Kaska Hempel: Where in the world are you happiest? [00:10:28] Peter Moffatt: Where am I happiest? In a sunlit wood, preferably with a burn flowing by, or on the top of a Scottish mountain. [00:10:42] Kaska Hempel: Now the final question, I always ask people to imagine the place they live in, ten years from now. Imagine that we've done everything possible to limit the impact of climate change and create a better and fairer world. And share one memory from that future with our listeners. [00:11:02] Peter Moffatt: Quite honestly, I think it will be very little different from what it is now. If, some of the ideas that have been proposed in the local place plan that is currently being prepared for the Black Isle and will be presented to the council at the end of this month. If some of them were to come to fruition, then the Black Isle would have a better transport system. It would have lots of affordable housing available for local people. It would have more local food production. Better care for old people. And safer cycle routes and so on. Transition Black Isle has been working for years on an active travel route, cycle path basically, between Avoch and Munlochy, and we have been frustrated. It's a question of getting a hold of the land, and there has been reluctance in some quarters to make land available. [00:12:03] Kaska Hempel: And if you can share one sound or smell or taste of that future, what would it be? [00:12:08] Peter Moffatt: I would like to think it was the sound of Curlews and we used to hear them over the fields outside the house. We were in Shetland a little while ago looking out over the pasture which should have been busy with Curlews and Lapwings and there was nothing there at all. Whether anything is likely to change to the extent that these birds become more numerous than they are at the moment, I don't know. It's unlikely, but it would be nice. I would love to hear Lapwings calling over the fields outside our house on a regular basis. [00:12:38] Kaska Hempel: I'm going to ask you if there's anything else that you wanted to add for our listeners. [00:12:44] Peter Moffatt: If you're interested and concerned about climate change and so on, just think whether you could make that little bit extra effort and volunteer for organisations like Transition Black Isle. There are plenty of other organisations on the Black Isle and elsewhere. Offer to volunteer, offer to become a trustee maybe and take a bit of responsibility. It's not very much. Put your good intentions into practice. Transition Black Isle has an online newsletter with a subscriber list of about 480 people. It has a membership of about 150. It has six trustees, needs more, and it is sometimes difficult to get people, especially young people, to volunteer to help with activities. There's a serious lack of young people coming forward, whether it's because they think it's an old fogey's group. I don't know. But we need more involvement by people who are obviously concerned, but just need to take a step forward and put that concern into voluntary action and actually help the climate movement on its way.

Seulement un an après Fallout 1, Black Isle sort la suite d'une des licences les plus iconiques du jeu vidéo. Entre son esthétique singulière, ses influences multiples et sa liberté de choix, le jeu marquera toute une génération. Mais le paysage vidéoludique a muté : des reliefs poussent sur la 2D, les consoles se transforment et les survivants du CRPG à l'ancienne vont devoir s'adapter ou disparaître... Jusqu'à ce que les retombées radioactives s'estompent et laissent entrevoir des villages d'irréductibles prêts à financer un genre qui avait bien besoin d'être dépoussiéré.Merci à nos patreotes qui financent l'émission sur https://www.patreon.com/findugameRejoignez le club de lecture sur Discord : https://discord.gg/YTGbSkN

Today on the Independent artist spotlight, Hilary de Vries. Scottish composer/musician whose work is greatly influenced by landscape, birdsong and poetry. Her publications include sheet music for bagpipes and clarsach, and collections of music inspired by Orkney and the Black Isle. Set 1: S A R R A M Fading Sunlight 02:21 Apryll Aileen Don't Make Me Wait 03:07 Art of Noise Moments In Love (Beaten) 06:45 Set 2: Violectric Owner of a Lonely Heart 04:43 Allister Thompson Wide Open Road (originally by The Triffids, 1986) 03:59 Allister Thompson Forgotten Years (originally by Midnight Oil, 1990) 04:50 The Gateless Gate A Dream of Rainbow Bridge 06:41 The Gateless Gate 1987 04:59 The Gateless Gate My Wounds Were Clean 16:02 Hilary de Vries Winter Bells 02:14 Hilary de Vries As a Swan 00:48 Hilary de Vries Honeycomb 01:39 Hilary de Vries The Scent of Pine 01:12 Hilary de Vries The Inbetween of Everything 02:47 Hilary de Vries The Sate Haven 01:40 Hilary de Vries With the Geese I Rise 01:28 SynchDub Last Birthmark 06:43 deadmau5 Failbait (feat. Cypress Hill) [Original Mix] 04:48 Set 3: General Fuzz Liquid Jazz 06:51 Gokul Salvadi Care - the Unconventional Piano 02:49 Ginny Owens Greater Still 04:31 Jordan Lively Sos 03:42 Low Strung Under the Boardwalk 02:40 Mannheim Steamroller The Cricket 02:22 Midnite String Quartet Endless Love 02:54 Pentatonix Happy Now 03:20 Pentatonix Side 03:21 Set 4: CFCF An Impossible Condo 02:01 David Grover Santa Musta Got Up 02:22 Pentatonix Winter Wonderland / Don't Worry Be Happy (feat. Tori Kelly) 03:23 A.K.A. Pella & Shlomo Sonnenkind Shuva 05:26 Alisa Fineman This Gift, This Land 04:04 deadmau5 Sex, Lies, Audiotape 05:46 Guitar Tribute Players From the Ground Up 04:30 Jeremy Green Easy on Me (Instrumental) 03:40 Little Blue Suitcase The Snakes Crawl at Night 02:52 Mason Williams & Mannheim Steamroller Saturday Night at the World 03:48 Paul Zim H-O-N-E-Y 01:22 Paul Zim Program 4 (11 Songs) 12:39 Piano Dreamers Perfect Background Music 03:50 Ryan Stewart Celtic Spell 06:17 Shir Soul V'hi She'amda 03:47 Sultans of String Hurricane (feat. Suat Suna, Gundem Yayli Grubu, Sammy Figueroa & Mehmet Akatay) [Suat Suna Version] 04:09 The Dear Abbeys Slow Dancing In a Burning Room 03:35 The Piano Guys Abraham Lincoln Tribute 04:19 Set 5: Machines in Transit the feeling 03:10 Mandrake Root Build and Burn 04:43

Welches Fallout verdient es wirklich, als bestes Spiel der Reihe betitelt zu werden? Und wie unterscheiden sich eigentlich die Teile von Bethesda und Black Isle bzw. Obsidian?Fallout 1 und 2 sind ohne Frage all time favorites, Fallout 3 hat eine ganz neue Generation mit der Reihe vertraut gemacht und Fallout 4 hat mit einigen klugen Entscheidungen motivierende Gameplay-Mechaniken etabliert. Doch ein Spiel scheint vielen Fans ganz besonders am Herzen zu liegen. Fallout New Vegas. Warum das so ist, versuchen wir in diesem Podcast gemeinsam mit Jochen Gebauer zu klären._____________________________________________________________________________Hier geht's zu The Pod: https://www.gamespodcast.de/Kapitel: 00:00 - 11:40 Intro und Kuchen 11:40 - 01:01:15 Das Spiel 01:01:15 - 01:02:52 VerabschiedungUnterstützt das Projekt CCG auf Steady und erhaltet Zugang zu zusätzlichen Premium-FolgenHier findet ihr uns auf YouTube:Hier geht's zu Landsquids (Sebastians) KanalHier geht's zu Thaneros (Michales) KanalHier findet ihr Caffee, Cake and Games auf YouTubeDesign: SkadiIntro-Musik: Daniel HrenIntro: Thaneros und Bäckerin & Kamerafrau Akazie_

Trent Kusters chats with Josh Sawyer, the Game Director behind Obsidian Entertainment's Pentiment. Together they discuss his long career in game development from his start at legendary studio Black Isle to his current work on projects like Fallout: New Vegas and the Pillars of Eternity series; how he successfully pitched a narrative-focused 16th-century murder mystery; how a small team created an experience full of historical detail and references; and how to have fun with fonts. Watch this episode on our Youtube channel.

In this episode our resident RPG experts, Mads and Chris, give the chant on the Black Isle 1999 classic, Planescape: Torment. Like the stunning artwork on this episodes cover? It's by Sergio Strano. Checkout Sergio's work on his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/sergio.strano/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D Thanks to all of our Patreon's who made this episode possible. Nick Smith Pete Rogers Rune P New Game Old Flame - Podcast Christopher Bolton Damon Crockett Dylan D'Arch Bitmap Soft Alec Plint Mikes Retro Tech Derek Young Dave Velociraptor Nik Howard Price Matthew Turner SiEC Adam Hinde Chris O'Regan James Dunn Hans Crombeen Roushimsx Guto Threadbare Chris Atwill Axeman Harvey Watson Martyn Jones Tim TJ Walker Ricardo Engel HeavyMetalDon James Bentley Tony Parkinson Gaz H Mal Woods Red-Crested Breegull Cane and Rinse LamptonWorm Salvio Calabrese Mitsoyama Rhys Wynne Clint Humphrey Mark Bylund Paul Ashton Chris Rowe Jon Sheppard Laurent Giroud Deadl0ck Aaron Maupin Jim-OrbitsIT Jon Veal Thomas Scoffham Andy Marsh Patrick Fürst Laurens Andrew Gilmour Stephen Stuttard Matt Sullivan Darren Coles Garry Heather Edward Fitzpatrick Nick Lees Blake Brett Looking for some MiSTer FPGA accessories? Give https://misterfpga.co.uk/ a visit and use the code retroasylum to gain a 6% discount.   Looking for some new games for your favourite retro system? Then checkout https://www.bitmapsoft.co.uk/ Help support the Retro Asylum by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/retroasylum Retro Asylum on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/retroasylum/ Retro Asylum YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfCC9rIvCKoW3mdbuCsB7Ag Retro Asylum on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_retro_asylum/ Retro Asylum on Twitch:https://www.twitch.tv/theretroasylum Twitter: @theretroasylum Retro Asylum Merchandise: https://retroasylumstore.myspreadshop.co.uk/

The United States and its allies are trying to gauge how, exactly, Vladimir Putin might use the nuclear weapons he's threatened to deploy in his war in Ukraine, if he were to take that dire step. Meanwhile, North Korea has conducted six missile tests in two weeks.Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Katie Stallard in Scotland's Black Isle, and Ido Vock in Helsinki discuss what Russia's use of a nuclear weapon could involve, and how Ukraine, the US and their allies might respond.Then, they turn to North Korea. What is the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, working towards? And what do his plans mean for the security of South Korea and Japan?The team also answers a listener's question on what all of this could mean for Iran's nuclear deal, in this week's You Ask Us.If you have a question for the international team, fill out our new You Ask Us web form.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.Further reading:Emily Tamkin on what could happen if Russia used nuclear weapons?Katie Stallard asks what is the meaning of North Korea's nuclear opportunism.Megan Gibson on how Mahsa Amini's death set Iran on fire.Ido Vock on how the Nord Stream pipeline "sabotage" shows the weakness of Europe's critical infrastructure. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1200 miles over two and a half months on foot. That's what our friend John Gibson, supported by his wife Isobel and other family and friends, has accomplished – walking from Land's End to John o' Groats to raise awareness of issues around suicide, after his son Cameron took his own life in October of 2019. Last Saturday we joined John, and many others whose lives have been touched by suicide, for the Black Isle stretch of his journey. Today's sermon reflects on that experience and what we can learn from how God drew near to Elijah at the very lowest point of his life. Whatever the circumstances, we have it in us to help others in inner pain with the simple gift of our presence and our listening. https://youtu.be/j70SuwjPQTM

Get ready for a North Coast 500 episode packed with great food, great stories, extraordinary characters from Scotland's history and beautiful wildlife!  Pennie Stuart and Dan Holland take a diversion, right at the start of the NC500 route, and make time to explore the fascinating village of Cromarty, along at the eastern most tip of the Black Isle peninsula, just north of Inverness.  While Pennie explores the Cromarty firth by sea kayak with Liquid Footprints, and uncovers some fascinating WW1 history, Dan goes in search of dolphins with Eco Ventures, plus they drop in on a unique evening of story-telling and food at the Downright Gabbler at the other end of the Black Isle in Beauly. Plan your North Coast 550 adventure and download the North Coast 500 App The North Coast 500 podcast is an Adventurous Audio production

Join Justin and Daniel as they chat with video game designer and CEO of Obsidian Entertainment Feargus Urquhart about tabletop RPGS, fantasy, science fiction, beta testing classic games, and more!Be sure to visit MonstersMadnessandMagic.com to stay up to date on all horror, history, metal and mystery. The digital doors of the Sanctuary of the Strange are open to you!Monsters, Madness and Magic on Facebook.Monsters, Madness and Magic on Twitter.Monsters, Madness and Magic on Instagram.

The Black Isle - Gaelic Pronunciation by VisitScotland

The intro and interstitial tracks from today's episode are John Henry's Reel/First Month of Summer/Bean A Ti Ar Lar/The Wild Irishman from Becky Tracy's album Evergreen, Haapavesi/Wedding Dance from Assembly's 2002 EP The January EP, Hills/Mulqueen's from Nightingale's 2004 album Three, Clamanda/Farewell To The Taliban from Keith Murphy's 2005 album Bound for Canaan, SamSam Amidon/Good Morning To Your Night Cap from Childsplay's 2009 album Waiting for the Dawn, and Barter's Hill from Nightingale's 2009 album Jolie.See the Contra Pulse website for transcripts and more. Or click here to download it directly.And the Country Dance and Song Society for information about Contra and English country dance across the continent.See and hear Keith Murphy in action!You can read more about Keith and his projects, and buy his albums and tune books at his Black Isle MusicWatch Keith Murphy and Hanneke Cassel perform “Clamanda" at Takoma Park, Maryland, in 2012. Learn more about Hanneke on her website.See Keith on piano with Nightingale during a 2008 contra dance in Tacoma. And here's Nightingale at the Spring LEAF dance in 2010. You can check out Nightingale's albums here.Here's a video of Wild Asparagus playing at the Guiding Star Grange. You'll see Keith on penny whistle at 1:55 and 4:38, and piano at 6:40 and 8:43. Here's another video of Wild Asparagus, with Keith on the guitar.Here is a link to the 2004 album Other Side of the Tracks, by Assembly, and the 2002 EP The January EP. You can read more about Assembly here.Enjoy this video of Keith Murphy playing in Childsplay at The National Heritage Museum in 2007.Several of Keith's tunes were used in Ken Burns' documentary series on the Roosevelts. You'll find them all in this episode! Fast forward to 1:43:48 to hear a poignant speech by Eleanor Roosevelt, leading into Keith Murphy's tune, The Black Isle at 1:44:15.Keith has been the music director for the WGBH Boston Public Radio's annual Celtic Sojourn St Patrick's Day concerts since 2014. You can listen to the 2019 concert here, which features Keith!Odds and ends mentioned in this interviewTo hear more Scottish Dance music, check out this video of Bobby Brown and the Scottish Accent at the 2010 Ottawa Ball! And here you can listen to their recording of Kiss me quick, my Mither's coming / Bonny Jocky.Learn more about Scottish Accordion player Freeland Barbour who Keith played with at Pinewoods.Charlie Lennon was one of Keith's influences for Irish style piano. Here's a video of Charlie Lennon on piano with Sean McGuire on fiddle.Keith learned a lot about vamping styles and medleys from Susie Petrov.Visit Oliver Schroer's website here, the great fiddle player who Keith played with.Learn more about fiddler Viveka Fox and flutist Chris Layer.Many folks mentioned in this interview have their own Contra Pulse episode: David Cantieni (part 1, part 2), George Marshall, Becky Tracy, and Jeremiah McLane.Listen to Kerry Elkin's Soir Et Matin here.Here is a video of the Horse Flies at the 2009 Dance Flurry.

With Kate Forbes. In this Scotland's Choice episode Drew sits down with Kate Forbes to the discuss economic opportunities for an Independent Scotland. Kate is the MSP for Skye, Lochaber, and Badenoch (which includes Dingwall, the Black Isle, and the Great Glen). Kate is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy in the Scottish Government, which means she can offer a unique insight into the tangible economic benefits of independence. The issues that dominated the 2014 independence debate have fundamentally changed and Kate offers her insight into how these have shifted and the economic opportunities for an independent Scotland. This episode is well worth a listen, Drew, and Kate cover everything from how she got into politics to currency, trade, energy and the impacts of Brexit. You can follow Kate on Twitter here or on Facebook here. Listen to other episodes of Scotland's Choice here.

The interview with my guest of this week's episode was actually recorded right away on New Year's Day and I'm very happy to welcome author, leader of a Gnostic Parish and a Martinist Lodge, 32nd Degree Mason and 9° Magus in the S.I.R.A., Rev. Mathieu G. Ravignat. Mathieu has published three large and very deeply researched and well-written books on the Élus Coëns, the French Gnostic Church and Egyptian Masonry and of course these will be our main topics of interest. Growing up in a devout but open-minded Canadian Catholic family Mathieu was called to spirituality at a young age and even considered priesthood as a path in his early teens. However, during his university years he discovered several authors like William Blake who exerted a huge influence on his spiritual views and pointed him into different directions making him re-questioning his orthodox Catholic framework and opening up the gates to Western Esotericism to him. Mathieu went on to contact local esoteric groups and soon became active in Masonic circles, especially embracing Martinism. In 2019 Mathieu published a book ‘The French Gnostic Church: Doctrinal and Liturgical Evolution' which is about one of the least understood esoteric parts of the Western Esoteric Tradition. We'll be talking about his inspiration for putting quite a lot of work into this project as well as how digitization played a big part in it. We'll be exploring how the Gnostic Church could evolve in France, how it embraced mystical experiences in a Valentinian tradition and went on to become the first church in modern history that consecrated a woman as a bishop. Of course we'll be discussing the figure of visionary and neo-Catharist Jules Doinel who as its leader aimed to return to a ‘primitive' form of Christianity with its basis in the Gospel of John. The covers of Mathieu Ravignat's two books that we disuss in this episode.Available here Aside from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism that both got carried forward into French respectively British Esoteric practices there was also a third ‘movement' within esotericism without a religious framework which was a huge inspiration for another of Mathieu's books, ‘Quest for a Lost Rite: The Origins, High Degrees and Spiritual Practices of Traditional Egyptian Freemasonry'. In this book he aims for the reconstruction of very specific degrees and also provides spiritual methods of the rites and we'll be diving deeply into his motivation to make the information within this book available for the public in not only going into details on historical aspects but creating a work that is useful to the soul and offers real tools for practice. In the end, Mathieu will kindly open up on his upcoming projects including a book titled ‘Hermetic Musings Volume I.', containing articles on esoteric subjects such as the concept of the bridal chamber in ancient Gnosticism, practical alchemy and much more. Music played in this episode ONCE AGAIN, TODAY'S MUSIC IS BY ONE OF OUR LISTENERS. BENJAMIN BROWN, SOUND ENGINEER FROM SCOTLAND, CONTACTED ME AND OFFERED US THREE OF HIS WORKS. Benjamin Brown is a recording engineer and musician based between Glasgow and The Black Isle in Scotland. The music that we hear in this episode is from a record he made during 2020 and finished last year. Here is what he says about his work: "It's a pretty little thing which I suppose is something I have always wanted to make.. It is a continuation of what I have always done - express myself via music - and to me, makes perfect sense. When I was nineteen I joined the band Falloch and made a quiet decision to spend the next decade pursuing "music" to see where I could get.

Today we'll be talking about 12 Minutes coming to Switch and Playstation, Battlefield 2042 got another round of updates, the original isometric version of Fallout 3 by Black Isle that was cancelled is being brought back to life by a fan, and Fanatec introduces a new direct drive steering wheel for Gran Turismo and Playstation 5. […]

Xbox stands on shaky ground, Lord of the Rings gets a second master & Gaming goes to academia These stories and many more on this episode of the Video Game Newsroom Time Machine This episode we will look back at the biggest stories in and around the video game industry in October of 2001. As always, we'll mostly be using magazine cover dates, and those are of course always a bit behind the actual events. Get us on your mobile device: Android: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly92aWRlb2dhbWVuZXdzcm9vbXRpbWVtYWNoaW5lLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz iOS: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/video-game-newsroom-time-machine And if you like what we are doing here at the podcast, don't forget to like us on your podcasting app of choice, YouTube, and/or support us on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/VGNRTM Send comments on twitter @videogamenewsr2 Or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vgnrtm Or videogamenewsroomtimemachine@gmail.com Links: 7 Minutes in Heaven: Video version - https://www.patreon.com/posts/58896891 https://www.mobygames.com/game/looney-tunes-sheep-raider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94eqXbijowE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Wolf_and_Sam_Sheepdog Corrections: September 2001 Ep - https://www.patreon.com/posts/57280094 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Boy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GarageGames https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash#Macromedia 2001: Xboxes are coming off the line... but at what cost? https://archive.org/details/NextGen82Oct2001/page/n9/mode/2up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_(console)#Sales 3rd party confidence in Xbox shaken https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:Edge_UK_102.pdf&page=6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_(console) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_game_consoles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_III Malice goes multiplatform https://www.devuego.es/pres/revista/hobby-consolas/120 pg. 14 https://www.mobygames.com/company/argonaut-games-plc https://www.mobygames.com/game/malice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonaut_Games https://www.mobygames.com/game/star-fox_ What Xbox lacks in exclusives it makes up in emulation https://archive.org/details/NextGen82Oct2001/page/n19/mode/1up http://xbmcxbox.blogspot.com/2013/03/complete-list-of-emulators-for-original.html https://www.instructables.com/The-Easiest-Way-To-Soft-Mod-An-Original-XBOX/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodi_(software) Nintendo outlines online plans for Gamecube https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GameCube_online_functionality#Supported_games https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File%3AEdge_UK_102.pdf&page=11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_Expansion_Bay August 2000 Jump - https://www.patreon.com/posts/42013999 Alien Front Online brings voice to Dreamcast multiplayer https://www.devuego.es/pres/revista/hobby-consolas/120 pg. 20 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Front_Online ECTS abandoned by the majors https://archive.org/details/MicromanaTerceraEpocaSpanishIssue81/page/n13/mode/1up https://archive.org/details/NextGen82Oct2001/page/n11/mode/2up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Computer_Trade_Show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diablo_Immortal Greg Fischbach Interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/46578120 Joe Morici Interview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/37289815 Windows XP launches October 25 https://archive.org/details/MicromanaTerceraEpocaSpanishIssue81/page/n25/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP July 2001 Jump: https://www.patreon.com/posts/54644068 Monolith announces Shogo sequel https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_107_October_2001/page/n22/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogo:_Mobile_Armor_Division EA secures Lord of the Ring movie license https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Electronic_Arts Don Daglow Interview Part 2: https://www.patreon.com/posts/39095819 https://www.mobygames.com/game/lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers EA seeks licenses for LAN tournaments https://archive.org/details/pcgames200110/PC-Games%202001-10/page/11/mode/1up https://www.pcgames.de/Spiele-Thema-239104/News/FIFA-Verbot-fuer-LAN-Parties-11115/ https://www.mobygames.com/game-group/ea-sports-games Napster suffers legal blow https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_107_October_2001/page/n17/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napster#Legal_challenges Compaq to merge with HP https://archive.org/details/MicromanaTerceraEpocaSpanishIssue81/page/n25/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq#Late_1990s%E2%80%932000s Titus takes control of Interplay https://archive.org/details/pcgames200110/PC-Games%202001-10/page/14/mode/1up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Interactive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interplay_Entertainment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Isle%27s_Torn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_IX:_Ascension https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Isle_Studios Harvard study claims game ratings underreport violence https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_207/page/n37/mode/1up https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-01-fi-29231-story.html https://www.kidrisk.org/team/about/profiles/KMTprofile.html https://www.mobygames.com/game/arcade/ms-pac-man https://9gag.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Coffee_(mod) Gaming gets its first dedicated academic journal http://gamestudies.org/ https://archive.org/details/PC_Zone_107_October_2001/page/n26/mode/1up Recommended Links: The History of How We Play: https://thehistoryofhowweplay.wordpress.com/ Gaming Alexandria: https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/ They Create Worlds: https://tcwpodcast.podbean.com/ Digital Antiquarian: https://www.filfre.net/ The Arcade Blogger: https://arcadeblogger.com/ Retro Asylum: http://retroasylum.com/category/all-posts/ Retro Game Squad: http://retrogamesquad.libsyn.com/ Playthrough Podcast: https://playthroughpod.com/ Sound Effects by Ethan Johnson of History of How We Play and Enzo Maida.  

What do Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Pillars of Eternity, and The Outer Worlds all have in common? Well that's simple, it's @Feargus Urquhart Rarely is an individual as synonymous with a genre as Feargus Urquhart, Co-founder of Obsidian, is with RPGs. This week on The Game Dev Show, Feargus takes us through his story, all the way from Interplay to founding Black Isle, and the eventual creation of Obsidian. We also dive deep on isometric RPGs, D&D, character creation, game design!

Right that's enough skiving. Back to listening to this drivel on a regular basis. Thanks for listening to old episodes whilst I've been mixing my blood with a dram or two in London, Inverness and the Black Isle. Fabulous all three. Staycation extravaganza. See my Instagram #Doric Express for pics. Thanks

TSR-U-KIDDING-ME: Tabletop Twitter got weird these last few weeks as debates exploded around the tweets made by Ernest G. Gygax, Jr.––son of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator, Gary Gygax––where he doubles down on strong, anti-SJW views in support of his new RPG, Giantlands. SLAPP FEST: Andrew also checks in with the current legal fight started by Chris Avellone––formerly of Black Isle and Obisidian Entertainment––as he tries to sue people who said mean things about him on the internet. Also, Dan has gotten even more obsessed with the Metroid series since last week. RELEVANT LINKS: A thread from Mike Dunford about the Chris Avellone defamation lawsuit. A thread from Daryl Mott that does a good job summarizing all the drama around the Gygax boys. A thread by attorney, D. M. Schmeyer, that covers the Avellone defamation lawsuit. RELEVANT EPISODES: "Pong 2020" (07 June 2019): Where D. Bethel and Andrew discuss the comments made by Chris Avellone about writing games "without" any politics in their narrative or design. "Zombie Brooms" (11 June 2021): Where Andrew covered the nature of lawsuits and their jurisdictions when talking about the copyright lawsuit filed by a photographer against Capcom. "Drive Your Gorilla" (25 June 2021): Where D. Bethel's excitement for Metroid gets reignited. INFO: Visit our website at forallintents.net and leave your thoughts as comments on the page for this episode. Join our Facebook page Social: Andrew - Twitter & Instagram, D. Bethel - Twitter & Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Subscribe to and review the show on the iTunes store or on Spotify. FEATURED MUSIC: "Disco Medusae" by Kevin McLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3652-disco-medusae "District Four" by Kevin McLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3662-district-four Tracks are licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) "Nerd Law" written and performed by D. Bethel

Fancy searching for Nessie in Loch Ness?Or seeing the famous spot where the Harry Potter train goes over that bridge?Maybe you want to make a drive around one of the most beautiful spots in all of Scotland?Perhaps you want to visit a few gorgeous castles?Or maybe you want to spend some time at the far northern reaches of the mainland of Great Britain and take in sea views and some lovely beaches?This episode on the Northern Highlands of Scotland is jam-packed with so many destinations and sites that you will be adding more places to your Scottish bucket list. I certainly have!Bo Fraser, a Blue Badge guide with the Scottish Tourist Guides Association, returns as our guest. And she is going to offer up more incredible information on destinations in her home country.We'll cover Loch Ness, the Great Glen, the Silver Sands of Morar, Dunrobin Castle, Dunnet Head, Durness, Cape Wrath, Ullapool and Applecross and so much more.Seriously, there is so much in this episode!Bo, a St Andrews native, knows so much about her home country. So you are going to learn a lot about the Highlands of Scotland.Want to chat more about the Scottish Highlands?Just send an email to lynne@wanderyourway.com to chat more about this amazing destination. In this episode:2:22 Placing the Scottish Highlands on the map3:59 The Great Glen  6:36 Loch Ness  13:28 Spean Bridge / Commando Memorial14:23 Fort William17:39 Glenfinnan Memorial and viaduct (Harry Potter)21:22 Neptune Staircase / Caledonian Canal 26:50 Silver Sands of Morar27:36 Ardshealach Smokehouse29:37 Mallaig32:13 Introduction to the North Coast 50035:46 The Black Isle 39:21 Dunrobin Castle44:05 Dunnet Head45:09 Castle of Mey47:03 Thurso/Scrabster and Gills Bay49:35 Tips for visiting this piece of Scotland51:07 Tongue51:38 Durness54:50 Cape Wrath1:00:07 Lochinver & Achiltibuie1:03:57 Ullapool1:06:42 Gairloch1:08:51 Torridon, Applecross and the Bealach Na Ba1:12:00 Loch MareeImportant links:Scotland Your WayGreat GlenLoch NessFort WilliamJacobite Steam TrainArdshealach SmokehouseNorth Coast 500Dunrobin CastleCastle of MeyDurnessCape WrathSolas B&BApplecross24 Images to Make You Want to Travel to Northwest ScotlandWhy I've Fallen Head Over Heels in Love with ScotlandVisit ScotlandIf you haven't subscribed, please do so. And do leave a review! For more information on Europe visit

"I WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT STANDING OUT... I KNEW I WASNT THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE, AND I KNEW I WASN'T ORDINARY, SO I WAS LIKE 'IM GONNA BE EXTRA-ORDINARY" In part 1, Kojo speaks of growing up as the only coloured person in a white-dominated area, and tells a great story of how it was to attend his first Ghanaian party with his dad's side of the family.  We also cover:- how being looked at for being different to the other kids acted as a fuel of motivation for him to, as he describes it, give them a real reason to want to stare at him.- the importance of role models in his upbringing- the immense competition in the performance and modelling industry- meeting his idol, Mohammed Ali ... and much much more ____________________________________ "My mother and my grandma brought me up. My mum was born in Rio de Janeiro, and at the age of 6 my mother moved to the Black Isle in the Highlands with her brother, mother and Father Hector Macdonald, who was a Highlander through and through and won the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in the 1st World War." Kojo Agyei is a renowned lifestyle and wellbeing coach who has worked with Beyoncé, David Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Emma Bunton, Tony and Cherie Blair and coached for adidas, Nike and Lululemon, plus Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion Football Clubs. In 2004 he was chosen to be the face of the BBC's ground breaking Athens' Olympic Legends campaign and they cast Kojo alongside Louie Spence as a celebrity fitness trainer on the hugely successful teen TV show Bump and Grind. In 2004 Kojo set up his own production company under the Beyond brand which was nominated for ‘Sports Event of the Year'. When he closed the company to move to Scotland in 2011 it was turning over £1 million a year. But why did it close? Listen to Kojo's fascinating story, where some pivotal moments completely shifted the trajectory of his life, and it wasn't smooth sailing by any means. Get in touch with Kojo on Instagram @kojoopuniagyei _____________ JOIN THE THIRD CULTURE TRIBE Third Culture Talks will spotlights the perspectives of third culture individuals around the world, by providing a platform where they can share these expertise and key opinions to an audience, much like TEDx talks. To find and more and how you can be a part of the growing tribe, check out podcast.thejourneyonwards.com/tribe  

In this podcast Iain Craighead gives the benefit of his experience as a BASICS Scotland Responder. He stresses the importance of getting to know your Sandpiper bag and equipment inside out, as well the benefits of building a strong relationship with your local ambulance colleagues. Iain also urges patience with gaining experience as a Responder and becoming a really valuable local emergency resource. Top Tips: 1  Know your kit inside out 2 Get to know your local ambulance colleagues and work closely with them 3 Stick with it!  Be patient and take time to gain the experience! About Iain Dr Iain Craighead is a GP based in Dingwall and has been a BASICS Scotland Responder for the last 6 years. He qualified as a GP in 1996 and  worked in West Oxfordshire before spending 5 years working with International Nepal Fellowship based at Green Pastures Leprosy and Rehabilitation Hospital in Pokhara. On returning to the UK he lived and worked in Kirkwall where he attended a PHEC course and together with Dr Kirsty Cole and the local ambulance manager Lyndon Sinclair, set up a BASICS Scotland Responder scheme covering the Orkney mainland. In 2016 he moved south and joined Dingwall Medical Group and the Highland PICT team just at the point when it introduced a paramedic crewed response car. He remains an active BASICS Scotland Responder whilst at home on the Black Isle. Dr Craighead has been a GP trainer for 10 years and is 1st team doctor for Ross County Football Club.

This is the true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a prisoner held without charge in Guantanamo Bay. It stars Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tahar Rahim and Shailene Woodley. It's brutal, it's truthful and it is a film that puts the spotlight on the way people are treated by the US Government. Beer by Black Isle and Overworks by Brewdog.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we conclude our series on Baldur's Gate. We talk takeaways and then clean up a very full mailbag. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Issues covered: the long-term quest of the franchise, Baals everywhere, converting from D&D, not every rule translating well, limiting the story to a generic "Gorion's Ward," having different expectations for their other games, a full campaign, feeling like a bad adventurer, mechanical map support, fog of war, stories about the side content, the story picking up from the flooding of a mine, tactical hybrid combat, the wide variety of character choice, companion quests, addition of voice, closing off branches, RPG elements, holistic design and RPGs, the use of archetypes, the spectrum of being a role-playing game, companion pairs, richness for companions, leaning into the save system, the puzzle nature of the combats, the ideal in level design vs core mechanics, the influence of level design on mechanics, comfort with tools, making the mistake of stopping a story having an impact on me, greater maturity expected of players, missing out on an opportunity for executing a plan, having a wider field of options for play, not worrying about what happens to your game after you've left it, Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Diablo, Dungeons & Dragons, SSI, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Neverwinter Nights, Black Isle, The Witcher 3, Fallout, Temple of Elemental Evil, Larian Studios, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Beamdog, Dragon Lance, The Belgariad, David Eddings, Divinity: Original Sin, Dan Hunter, Descent 3, Dark Souls, UbiSoft, Assassin's Creed, Arkham (series), Bette Davis, Dragon's Dogma, Final Fantasy, Warren Linam-Church, Greg, Logan, Borderlands, Uncharted, Jedi Starfighter, GTA 3, Keith "mysterydip" Wagner, Firewatch, BioShock, The Walking Dead, Artimage, Wizards of the Coast, Ashton Herrmann, Republic Commando, Trent Oster, Soul Reaver, Populous: The Beginning, Hitman 3, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: TBD Twitch: brettdouville or timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Ian Rankin is one of the literary stars of Scotland, and someone with a passion for the Far North who has set some of his novels in the Highlands. The action in his latest novel, A Song for the Dark Times, takes place between Edinburgh and the north coast.In this part of the podcast, we focus on Ian's passion for the Highlands, how to capture the real life of the area rather than its tourist present or mythologised past, electric vehicle ranges and ... where to stop for a comfort break on the A9.

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we continue our series on Bioware's 1998 CRPG classic, Baldur's Gate. We talk a bit about the structure of the world, the difference between playing straight through on the main story and indulging in side quests, companions, and some about audio and music before turning to your feedback. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Chapter 5 Issues covered: Brett explains Tim's intro, consistency of tone in the writing, economics in pop culture, considerations of what mixes badly with chocolate, the flow of Cloakwood, Brett makes a map, leaning into quicksaving, pulling back like a tactical map, how much time has been spent in-game, Tim's Cloakwood PTSD, CRPG arachnophobia, a few standout side areas, the slowness of D&D's progression mechanics, a well-written side character, companion characters from the beginning, adding in 3e backstab rules, the compositions of our parties, a walk through how you gained XP in different editions, D&D tournaments, Brett's anecdote about a chime of hunger, gaining story rewards, rich complex settings like the Forgotten Realms, how much do you leverage the IP, a fan wanting more fan service, being a potential recruitment tool, ambient audio, songs sticking in your head due to hours with them, orchestral soundtrack, inconsistent tone in voice performance, the large number of side characters, the unheroic death of Dorn, Rasaad's side quest in Baldur's Gate, the curse of Crenshinibon, the manual and tutorialization, brain-twisting THAC0, what editions/settings we're playing online, what designers leave to the player's imagination, cutting away from cutscenes, many uses of narrative design, audio logs, environmental storytelling, having the opportunity to sit with a story space in video games, how the numbers and pattern recognition lead to player stories, level caps in games, needing the cap for production reasons, needing the cap for design reasons, level caps and player goals, retiring in a tabletop game, modding in side management games into big RPGs. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: The Dungeon Run, Critical Role, Star Wars, Eye of the Beholder, Darkstone, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Black Isle, Birthright, Trading Places, Vampire: the Masquerade, R. A. Salvatore, World of Warcraft, Michael Hoenig, Charles Deenen, Craig Duman, Interplay, Wayne Cline, Hal Barwood, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Michael Dorn, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Grant, Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck, Jim Sterling, Jennifer Hale, Kevin Brown, Champions, Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, Wizards of the Coast, Rime of the Frostmaiden, Roll20, Greyhawk, The Shackled City, Zimmy Fingers, Bioshock, Fallout 3, Bethesda Game Studios, Pillars of Eternity, Obsidian, Diablo, Elder Scrolls (series), Cosmic Funkonaut, Grace Blessey, Hitman (series), Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time (two weeks!): Finish the Game Twitch: brettdouville and timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Sunday Craic:  The Black Isle - Duration  43 mins  Today I thought I'd take you to my old stomping grounds and spiritual home.. The Black Isle in the Highlands of Scotland and the Clootie Well. Video Link - Black Isle Clootie Well - Highlands

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where this week we begin a new series about Baldur's Gate, the 1998 CRPG from BioWare that revitalized the genre. We situate the game in time, talk about BioWare as a company, and then turn to a lot of Dungeons & Dragons nerdery. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Chapter 1 Issues covered: explaining Brett's intro, flashbacks, 1998: a great year in games, the setting, 2nd edition AD&D, founding BioWare and "the doctors," different flavors of CRPGs, how the backgrounds hold up, feeling like your way through an explorable world, talking a little bit about methodical combat, hiding some of the complexity of combat scheduling, the varieties of turn-based combat, how they might have gotten to the combat, how we're using combat, scripted AI characters, the (new?) tutorial, THAC0 explained, table-driven combat and war-games, discussing the difficulty levels in this and the other games, having to reload, statistical difficulty vs statistical gentleness, player expectations in early D&D modules, leaning more towards role-playing, BioWare and dialogue/ethics systems, mixing in other genre elements, evolving towards loyalty quests, feeling like the tabletop, having all the text, party members not meshing, changing perspective, being banned from Candlekeep, classic characters, death of a dad figure, reinforcing the main quest, building up a party, multi-classing vs two classes, potential party members, kicking party members out for roleplaying reasons, letting characters die, characters not interacting well, including VO, VO and character, needing to gather a party before venturing forth, playing evil characters, the affect of game-making on mood, animating the deaths of children, abstraction and craft, having to deliver, project rhythms, sense of flow, playing "right" vs efficiently, incentivizing the player, intrinsic vs extrinsic rewards, achievements as a psychological motivator. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Planescape: Torment, Dungeons & Dragons, LoZ: Ocarina of Time, BioWare, Shattered Steel, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, Grim Fandango, Resident Evil 2, Starcraft, Unreal, Thief: The Dark Project, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Xenogears, Tales from the Sword Coast, Icewind Dale (series), Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast, TSR, Magic: the Gathering, Hasbro, Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, EA, Mass Effect (series), Dragon Age (series), Diablo, Blizzard, Fallout (series), Black Isle, Obsidian Entertainment, inXile Entertainment, David Brevik, Temple of Elemental Evil, GDC, GURPS, Shadowrun, Storyteller, Call of Cthulhu, Dark Souls, Cyberpunk 2077, "etcetera,etcetera," Sam, Lani Lum, Nintendo, Tomb Raider, Bethesda Game Studios, Pete Hines, Starfighter (series), Republic Commando, Soren Johnson, Michael, Halo, The Witness, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Chris Hecker, Christian Bale, Hitman, Kirk Hamilton, Aaron Evers, Mark Garcia. Next time: Through Chapter 3 Errata: Apparently, Shattered Steel was *not* a Windows 95 title. We regret the error. Twitch: brettdouville/timlongojr, instagram:timlongojr, Twitter: @timlongojr and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Scotland’s North Coast 500 was opened in 2015 and has been a great success. This, Part 1, of a virtual tour will take us from Inverness to Dornoch on the east coast of northern Scotland. We will cross the Kessock bridge and the Black Isle to Tain, the oldest Royal Burgh in Scotland. A visit to Glenmorangie distillery may tempt some before crossing the Cromarty Firth with its wonderful wildlife and superb views. On our way north there is another Firth to cross at Dornoch and we will be passing a fabulous Indian inspired monument built in the late 18th century before arriving at Invergordon. You will be told the extraordinary tale of a Royal Naval mutiny that still reverberates down the decades. Dornoch is a lovely village with a castle and a famous Cathedral at its centre. Why were witches being burned here in the 18th Century and what was Madonna doing here in 2000. Join me on this wonderful tour to find out.

Janice sits down with crime writer Douglas Skelton to hear the case of John Adam (1835). It's a tale of greed and murder in the Highlands, with a whisper of the supernatural. It starts with the discovery of a body on the Black Isle...Douglas Skelton: http://douglasskelton.comFor more information about the podcast, visit: www.thebiglight.com/unspeakablescotland See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the end of the road across the Black Isle, not very far north of Inverness, at the mouth of the firth, sits the town of Cromarty. It’s a small community with a big tourist draw, overlooking the natural beauty of mountains and water. It also sits at an interesting point of crossover between the city, only forty minutes drive away, agriculture on the Black Isle and beyond, and heavy industry hosted in the firth and in the energy park across the water from the town. From the beaches in Cromarty, you can see dolphins, oil rigs, and wind turbines under construction. It’s a heady mix, and has drawn tourists, new residents, artists, and writers.We dig into the history and present of Cromarty. What is the context of this place, and what is it like to live there now? As Matt prepared to find out first hand, we spoke to Ingrid Rochford, who has lived there for much of her life, and now runs Ingrid’s House, a Scandinavian design shop in the centre of the town.You can catch up with Ingrid on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.She has just launched her Christmas range, which is worth a look online no matter where you are.

In this Part 3 of Inverness to the Gairloch, we leave the city and head north over the Kessock Bridge onto the Black Isle then west towards Loch Ewe, passing amazing sights such as the Corrieshalloch Gorge. We pass a man made lake, now part of a hydro scheme and hear how a lost world has re-appeared due to the dry weather in the Highlands. We will walk the white sandy beach of Gruinard Bay and hear about Gruidard House and Gardens.

In the first episode of Crimes Against Nature, host Lisa Marley talks to Andrea Goddard about the Ross-shire red kite massacre, one of the largest mass poisonings of birds of prey in the UK.  Original music by Henry Mitton. Sources: www.crimesagainstnaturepod.com 

Si sou seguidors de Tintín, segur que aquest títol us resulta familiar. Però, sabíeu que l'Illa Negra realment existeix, i que està situada molt a prop d'on viu el Santi? Bé, de fet no és ben bé una illa. Parlem de Tintín, del Black Isle i d'altres curiositats tintinaires en aquest capítol amb el qual arribem a la desena.Web on trobaràs els àudios de tots els capítols: https://www.spreaker.com/show/nessieFeed per subscriure's al podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/show/4537106/episodes/feedPer contactar amb nosaltres:email · buscantennessie@gmail.comWeb: https://buscantennessie.wordpress.comYouTube: http://bit.ly/YTNessieFacebook: http://facebook.com/buscantennessieTwitter: http://twitter.com/buscantennessieInstagram: http://instagram.com/buscantennessieSintonia del podcast:Forget By Fire: A Celtic Battle Theme, de MoustroAltres músiques:Folk Round, de Kevin MacLeodThatched Villagers, de Kevin MacLeodFiddles McGinty, de Kevin MacLeodLlicències Creative Commons

Many know Fallout to be a pillar of Bethesda's gameography -- but old school fans know the series began in the hands of isometric RPG legends. This isn't the story of every development cycle for every Fallout game... but this IS this story of the many times Fallout changed hands over the course of its nearly 25-year history. From Interplay to Black Isle; from Bethesda to Obsidian; and now, from Bethesda to Xbox -- this is the weird story of Fallout as an intellectual property, and what its current state means for its original creators.@wadelikespieRandom Access Memories is a podcast produced by Ron's Pies -- subscribe to the YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/ronspies

The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are full of fascinating people.In making the FarNorth podcast, we spoke to some of those people about everything from the Scots language and the history of castles to swimming in mountain lochs, crofting in the Cairngorms, and running a shop on the Black Isle.

Mark and Euan with this week's Scotland Outdoors podcast.

On Friday 10th April 1835 a body of a middle aged woman was found on the Black Isle in the Highlands. Her husband was accused of her murder and became the last man to be hanged in Inverness. You can watch the full video at www.youtube.com/ValerieForsyth

This week we head north, to the Scottish Highlands. Elizabeth Sutherland lived with her husband Kenny and their two young children in Culbokie, a tiny village on the Black Isle, a peninsula in north east Scotland. They lived an idyllic life, but their tight family unit was shattered in to a thousand pieces one Monday afternoon in September 1984 when Elizabeth, or Totsie as she was known, was savagely killed in her own home. Music thanks to www.bensound.com and mixed by www.djsuperstars.co.uk. Check us out on Patreon: www.patreon.com/seeingredpodcast

This week we head north, to the Scottish Highlands. Elizabeth Sutherland lived with her husband Kenny and their two young children in Culbokie, a tiny village on the Black Isle, a peninsula in north east Scotland. They lived an idyllic life, but their tight family unit was shattered in to a thousand pieces one Monday afternoon in September 1984 when Elizabeth, or Totsie as she was known, was savagely killed in her own home. Music thanks to www.bensound.com and mixed by www.djsuperstars.co.uk. Check us out on Patreon: www.patreon.com/seeingredpodcast

Artist filmmakers Mark Lyken (films, video installations and sound works) and Emma Dove (film, installation and photography) live and work together in rural Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Together they combine their experience as individual artists to produce immersive films and moving image installations. See our website for images and links to some of the films featured in the interview. https://www.intothemothlight.com/home/ep22-mark-lyken-emma-dove In the interview we discuss the work they made during residencies on The Black Isle and The Cromarty Firth where they explore the relationships between nature, industry and rural life. Mirror Lands (2014) and The Terrestrial Sea (2015) have both been screened internationally, with Mirror Lands winning the Award for Creativity at Document.Art International Film Festival in Bucharest. “..a deeply moving, absorbing and haunting film and sound study.” - The Quietus “Genuinely breathtaking” - Aesthetica Magazine “A surrealistic meditation on the way that different environments encroach on each other" - Financial Times ​Their latest collaboration 1300 shots (2020) is A single-take portrait film that returns two ex-patrons of Dundee cinema 'The Steps' to their favourite seats, 20 years after the cinema was decommissioned. A still camera observes those ex-patrons - the artist LAW and the musician VEX - watching one last film. We talk about this new work and the companion piece LAW, VEX & THE STEPS (2020) - a short film that profiles those two characters and Dundee’s forgotten arthouse cinema.

With the vast majority of spring barley now safely in storage, this episode we're looking at opportunities and challenges for growing malting barley in the UK. How can you get the most out of your crop? Where might you be able to get a commercial advantage? What new varieties are coming up? We hear from: Mark McCallum, Black Isle barley grower and chair of Highland Grain Bob King, Crisp Malt Rick Davies, Northampton Monitor Farm (https://ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/northampton) host who grows barley for Budweiser Julian South, MAGB Steve Hoad, SRUC David Eudall, AHDB market analyst Find out more: AHDB barley growth guide (https://ahdb.org.uk/barleygg) AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds market intelligence (https://ahdb.org.uk/cereals-oilseeds-markets) AHDB Recommended Lists (https://ahdb.org.uk/rl) Always drink responsibly. https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

People feel defeated when they hear the grand cost of achieving carbon neutrality. But what if some of the solutions were to be found in revitalising the collective imagination, harnessing the dynamism of local communities and rethinking local economies to achieve a sustainable future? In this episode we speak with Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition movement, which seeks to do exactly that. The Transition movement is all about dreaming the future we want to create and rebuilding the world at the level of individual communities. When you look at a local community through a Transition lens, you find numerous opportunities to bring the economy home, recreating it in a way that enables money to stay local and cycle locally, all the while creating community connection and entrepreneurship. There are currently Transition groups in more than 50 countries worldwide and Rob shared some of the unique local projects. One example was Black Isle peninsula in Scotland was given funding to focus on transportation solutions and because they knew their situation best, they arrived at a solution of encouraging biking, ridesharing, and walking in ways were synergistic, so much so that they reduced their mileage by an amount equivalent to driving to the Moon and back two and a half times. The City of Liege in Belgium asked “what if in a generation's time the majority of the the food eaten in Liege were grown on the land closest to Liege. This resulted in 21 new cooperatives, 5 million euros of investment by local people, two new farms started, two vineyards, a brewery, and 3 shops in town. Lastly, in the thriving Transition town of Totnes, the Reconomy Center is an innovative incubator for new enterprises. They run an event every year where people step up to support each other with their new enterprises. Totnes also has some projects that are building over 100 homes, workshop spaces, a hotel, and a new space for public events, which will all be in community ownership forever and will generate funds going forward. A common thread of successful Transition efforts is that you see solutions that have benefits beyond a direct reduction in carbon emissions – you also see public health strategy, biodiversity, economic strategy, people feeling invested in their community, and more. Because of the way things work with subsidies, externalities unaccounted for in costs, existing infrastructures and organizations, we get stuck in our current way and often lack the imagination or dedication to do the necessary rethinking of systems and rebuilding of economies to create a better future. The Transition movement invites and inspires us to think outside the box about the future we wish to create. Rob shares his vision of reimagining the future into something positive, realistic, and hopeful through storytelling and creating ‘memories of the future'. We need great leaders to help us overcome our imaginative poverty. The post Episode 72: Interview with Rob Hopkins, founder of Transition movement appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.

The students featured in this episode, in order of appearance, are…* Jo Pearce is a Masters student in English Language & Linguistics at the University of Glasgow. They are currently working on their dissertation, which looks at how voice quality contributes to listener perception of speaker gender. You can find them on Twitter @_Jo_Pearce.* Davie Wallace is from Cumbernauld and has just completed his Senior Honours in English Language & Linguistics. He recently completed his Dissertation, focusing on sociolinguistics, with specific regards to the use of the 'hoose' variable amongst Scottish working-class adolescents across varying contexts.* Frankie Macleod is from the Black Isle, near Inverness, and has just completed her final year of English Language and Linguistics at Glasgow Uni. She hopes to continue her studies next year by doing a Masters in Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh.* Anna Virtanen is a Finnish student soon to be starting her final year of undergraduate studies in English Language and Linguistics at the University of Glasgow. She is especially interested in bilingualism and linguistic identity. If you like to see pictures of mainly cups of coffee, you can follow her on Instagram @seikkailumielella.* Edward Marshall is a postgraduate student taking a taught Masters at the University of Glasgow. He is about to embark on his Master's dissertation in which he is going to investigate singer-to-singer accommodation of brightness. He will begin his PhD investigating choirs and accents in September.* Aaron Quigley is from Paisley and has just finished his first year at the University of Glasgow where he is studying English Language and Linguistics. In his first year, he also studied Italian and French as he has aspirations to work abroad in Europe teaching English after his university studies.

This months podcast is on the topic of remote and rural healthcare. Dr Antonia Reed, a GP on the Black Isle and the Clinical Director for Out of Hours Services at NHS Highland is in conversation with one of NHS 24’s Clinical Services Manager, Billy Togneri. It’s a fascinating insight into the way in which the two organisations are working together and how they use feedback from communities to improve the services provided. It also includes details about how technology is increasingly being used to meet those challenges. Anything you'd like us to cover? Get in touch at www.facebook.com/NHS24

We close out Found Footage February with a woman who found her own footage... after 25 years. Sandi Tan talks about her incredible film “Shirkers” and her personal journey with the story. In the intro, Randy Movie Pass’d “Everybody Knows” while Clark and Russ wrap up the UFF2 weekend. Watch Shirkers on Netflix today! Fulfill your Found Footage Horror needs at https://povhorror.com/ Theme song by Darryl Blood - darrylblood.bandcamp.com/ If you'd like to get in contact with us, you can reach us at Podcast@TheOverlookTheatre.com, on Instagram (@theoverlooktheatre), Facebook (theoverlookhour/theoverlooktheatre), or Twitter (@OverlookHour/@OverlookTheatre).

Yesterday was the new high water mark as far as the Tavern Chat Podcast goes - over 1700 plays. The Tenkar's Tavern Discord server, where all of the live interviews take place is knocking on 1500 members. Oh, and the crowdsourced setting book, The Black Isle Gazetteer is now available in print for cost. Woot! Support the Tavern Chat Podcast on Patreon Read the Tenkar's Tavern Blog Join the Tenkar's Tavern Discord Server RPG Breakfast Club Coast to Coast Podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/support

"Even in today's crazy world, Nuka-Cola is still the number one choice of refreshment among Armageddon's survivors." - Sierra Petrovita, the biggest Nuka-Cola fan. This episode is about the Fallout series made by Interplay, Black Isle, Obsidian, and Bethesda. Kira and Kyle revisit the exciting world of corporate espionage leading up to the nuclear war, followed by homemade recipes! Learn all about the history of Nuka-Cola and other sodas within the Fallout series of games! Listen to subjects ranging from Quantum to Sunset Sarsaparilla to Vim! Game Theorem has a website, email, and social media. Go to the upper-left corner of the website to find all contact links here: http://gametheorem.podbean.com . Intro and outro music originally composed by Zach Grill. Check out the YouTube videos of all real-tasting flavors of Nuka-Cola here: https://tinyurl.com/NukaMixing .

"Mutants are best equipped to deal with the world today. Who else? The ghouls? Please. Normals! They brought nuclear death to us all. This will be the age of mutants. MUTANTS." - Dr. Richard Moreau, the Master of the Unity. This episode is about the Fallout series made by Interplay, Black Isle, Obsidian, and Bethesda. Kira and Kyle talk about the exciting world of a never-ending 1950's and what happens to a world that is pushed to the edge of global thermonuclear war! Learn all about the history, Ghouls, Super Mutants, robots, wastelands, and factions within the Fallout series of games! Listen to subjects ranging from the Mojave to the Capital to the Commonwealth! Game Theorem has a website, email, and social media. Go to the upper-left corner of the website to find all contact links here: http://gametheorem.podbean.com . Intro and outro music originally composed by Zach Grill.

I talk about why The Tavern (in any of its forms) will never win an award. More importantly, I talk about the free, crowdsourced sandbox setting, The Gazetteer to Eilean Dubh: The Black Isle. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tavernchat/support

The OSR Crowdsourced Black Isle was released yesterday on the 9th anniversary of the blog. And our second call in to the show from Spikepit. You can read the companion blog article here. Get a free copy of the PDF here, and the map here. Discussion on Reddit. You can get an at-cost softcover copy of the book on Lulu. Get an at-cost copy of the map printed on canvas at Spoonflower. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/follow-me-and-die/message

"I prefer the term 'autocrat.' I would rule as a chief executive. I would not answer to a board of directors or any other entity. Nothing to impede progress. If you want to see the fate of democracies, look out the windows." - Robert Edwin House, CEO of RobCo Industries and Founder of New Vegas   This episode is about the Fallout series made by Interplay, Black Isle, Obsidian, and Bethesda. Kira and Kyle talk about the exciting world of a never-ending 1950's, where the future progresses and regresses! Learn all about the history, corporations, governments, fuel shortages, and factions within the Fallout series of games! Listen to subjects ranging from robots to Nuka-Cola to Vault-Tec.   Email: gametheorems@gmail.comWebsite: http://gametheorem.podbean.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/gametheoremsTwitter: https://twitter.com/gametheoremsTumblr: https://gametheorem.tumblr.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/mysterymachinexInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/gametheorem/?hl=eniTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/game-theorem/id1375986486   Intro and outro music originally composed by Zach Grill.

Roland and Gary !! sorry everyone !! 

RUST MONSTER continues their journey to the Black Isle, and faces off against some beach party pirates in a spirited game of baseball. Leigh almost dies IRL but Kirk cut that bit out. Featured music: Black Sea Gale by The Dreadnoughts and Sandlot Party by Isotopes.Dungeon Punks is recorded and produced by Kirk Hamilton for the Podcasts of Doom Network. If you've been enjoying Dungeon Punks, we'd love to hear from you: tweet us at @DungeonPunksPod, follow us on Instagram @DungeonPunks, and like our Podcasts of Doom page on Facebook for more content.

Heute war Start in Ullapool. Durch die Berge ging es über Glenmorangie nach Inverness Die Anfangsmusik war in der letzten Folge schon, die habe ich aber erst in Inveress aufgenommen. War ein Versehen ;) Themen: Frühstück in Ullapool, Fahrt durch die Highlands, Besuch bei Glenmorangie, Fahrt auf die Black Isle, Chanonry Point, Fortrose, Fahrt nach Inverness , Essen in Inverness, Suche nach Unterkunft, Fort George.

This week on StoryWeb: Derek Bowman’s book Tam: The Life and Death of a Dog. For Mom, in honor of her birthday Chanonry Point. The very name of this tiny peninsula in northern Scotland evokes fond memories and takes me back – almost physically, it seems – to the little cottage I shared with my mother and sister for one week in Summer 2006. I can recall the peculiar washer and dryer (which try as we might we never could get to work), Julia’s bedroom at the top of extremely narrow, very steep, almost ladder-like stairs, and Mom’s makeshift bedroom in the living room. I certainly recall walking outside on Chanonry Point, which is a sightseeing destination for locals and tourists alike, our tiny cottage the only structure other than the lighthouse on the point. People would gather at all hours of the day to watch the dolphins that gathered in the Moray Firth just off the point, the largest “traffic intersection” of dolphins in Scotland, perhaps the world. I also well remember the many dogs that traveled with their humans to explore the shoreline. My family has always loved dogs, and the three of us reveled in having so many of them just outside the cottage’s front door. But of all the things I remember of that week at Chanonry Point, perhaps none stands out more than Mom being immersed in a book she found in the cottage. During quiet times that week, as we’d take breaks from our exploration of the Black Isle (as it is called) and the nearby communities of Rosemarkie and Fortrose, Mom would have her nose stuck in the pages of Derek Bowman’s Tam: The Life and Death of a Dog. Mom not only loves dogs – she also loves books, and she especially loves books about dogs. All week, she kept telling Julia and me how thoroughly she was enjoying the book. The volume became such a part of our time at Chanonry Point that we have a photo of Mom reading Tam! Years later, Julia and Mom tracked down used copies of Tam, and now all the women of the family have their own copies. When I finally took time to read my copy of Tam, I immediately understood what all the fuss was about. Bowman brings Tam to life in such a vivid way and perfectly describes a dog’s ways of being and habits, its gestures and quirks. Flash forward to 2017. I decided I wanted to feature Tam on StoryWeb, but I’d need the author’s permission to read an excerpt from the delightful book. Always one for some good cyber-sleuthing, I dug into my Google detective work and discovered that Derek Bowman had been a lecturer in German at Edinburgh University. I wrote to the department chair to see if he knew Bowman and if he knew how to contact him. The next thing I knew, I had an email from Derek Bowman’s two daughters, Catherine and Elisabeth. I felt I already knew them as Bowman – of course – makes them part of the story of his 1978 book. But now Catherine and Elisabeth were all grown up, and they were writing to let me know they’d received my request from the university. Sadly, both their father and their mother had passed away some time ago, but they would be delighted for me to feature Tam on StoryWeb and happily gave me permission to record some excerpts. They also told me more about their father, who despite my best investigations, had remained a mystery to me. Born in Liverpool in 1931, Derek Bowman loved languages and ultimately became a university lecturer in German. In addition to writing literary criticism and translating German works into English, Bowman also wrote and published poetry. His translation of The Diary of Dawid Rubinowicz is particularly interesting due to the subject matter. The diary of a young Jewish boy in Poland during World War II, the book is similar in content to Anne Frank’s diary. The story was little known at the time Derek Bowman translated it, and Bowman made a trip to Poland, then an Iron Curtain country, to verify the authenticity of his sources. Bowman also translated several short stories that were broadcast on BBC Radio, and a number of his poems were published in The Scotsman, one of Scotland’s major daily newspapers.   But for me – as for Mom and Julia – it all comes back to Tam: The Life and Death of a Dog. We’ve loved and lost our own dogs – most recently our beloved Toby and dearest Abbie – and all three of us stand amazed at how perfectly Bowman captures the “essence of dog” in his descriptions of Tam, his family’s border collie. I spied some similarities to Abbie in the border collie descriptions and in the photos of Tam – and of course, all the dogs we have loved have shared that same ineffable canine spirit as Tam. “All good clean fun,” Bowman writes of Tam. “Fun – that’s what draws him. St. Augustine’s ‘dilectio,’ delight, ‘the force that makes the life-time strong,’ the urge that shapes the course our lives take, for we are creatures just like him, with appetites just like his.” From the book’s title, you know it does not have a happy ending. Always, sadly, we must let our doggies go, as their lives are so much shorter than ours. But oh, the love they give us while they’re here, the boundless joy we share with them! If you want your own copy of Tam, you can find a used copy on Amazon as well as other online book outlets. I know you’ll love this short, sweet book every bit as much as Mom did that week on Chanonry Point. Listen now as I read a short excerpt from Derek Bowman’s book Tam: The Life and Death of a Dog.  

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Black Isle classic Planescape: Torment. We talk with Chris Avellone about the genesis of the game and its development and themes, and he drops lots of lovely design gems. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 0:43       Segment 1: Avellone interview 1:03:45  Break 1:04:20  Segment 2: Taste test, Next time Issues covered: how the opening areas were designed, Hive as playground, leveling up along with the city, building an engine and Black Isle lacking skills to do so, licensing engine from Bioware, Interplay's financial woes, The Birth of Avellone, interview, the forehead of Zeus, turning tropes on their heads, having the franchise before you had an idea for a game, crafting a vision document, players being smarter than publishers give them credit, Fargo having faith in his developers, Fallout dev issues and Fargo's support, recording FF effects and using that to help, changing the death mechanic because it makes you stop playing, death as a tool, flexibility of alignment shifts, what kind of player are you?, not judging the answers, Chosen One vs Broken One, causing problems across the Multiverse, story/adventure/puzzle heaviness, IWD as a cash-in attempt, writing a story in a weekend, IWD a step back rather than a step forward, "an unconscious bad choice," working around the combat if you want, unbalanced combat system, gratification from dialog choices, using experience points as systemic reinforcement of story importance, chunky dialog options, balancing, building your own Fortress of Regrets, fearing for the end of your career, localization costs, Fargo sticking up for the writing, expensive localization because of all the writing, possible loss of the companion dialog, New Vegas companions not being tied to storyline, lost opportunities, attempt to trade versatility, conveying the spine of a story via companion commentary, doing more vs doing quality, allowing polish to shine through, memorable stories, trying to do one thing really well, System Shock 2, Avellone freelancing, XP on its head, how it came to be, companions wrapped in story, number of 2D companions vs 3D companions, taste test. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Interplay, Conquest of the New World, Starfleet Academy, Fallout 2, Descent to Undermountain, Planescape: Torment, Black Isle, Icewind Dale, Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian Entertainment, Neverwinter Nights 2, Alpha Protocol, KotOR II, Prey, Divinity: Original Sin II, BioWare, Infinity Engine, Unity, Unreal, Baldur's Gate III, Throne of Baal, Dungeons & Dragons, Marco Green, Brian Fargo, Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, Final Fantasy, Wasteland 2 & 3, GURPS, Steve Jackson, Jason Anderson, Chris Taylor, Ken Lee, Robert Holloway, Gold Box series, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Fallout: New Vegas, The Walking Dead: Season 1, Halo 6, Prey, Arkane Studios, Rafael Colantonio, Swen Vincke, Night Dive Studios, System Shock (reboot), Shodan, Ken Levine, Ricardo Bare, Jason Schreier, Nick Hadsel-Mares, Blue Bandana Chocolate, Operation Neptune, Ancient Empires, Super Maze Wars, Half-Life, Mr. Eric Anderson, The San Francisco Kid. Links: Blue Bandana Chocolate Next time: Half-Life! Up to: "We've Got Hostiles" @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Black Isle classic Planescape: Torment. We talk about the end of the game and some of its pillars. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Finishing the game! Podcast breakdown: 0:37        Segment 1: End of the game 1:00:58   Break 1:01:23   Segment 2: Quick pillars, next time Issues covered: trapped Trias, the Pillar of Skulls, how XP is dispersed, splitting between characters as a natural difficulty modifier, Tim sacrifices Morte... like some kind of monster, gibbering mouthers, returning to Curst, the Fallout vibe, fighting Trias by kiting, under-leveling for combat, possibility of being unable to finish your game, why doesn't Trias have a dialog option when his ideas are wrong-headed, Brett and Tim describe how they go through the battles, the excitement of finding the right dialog option, coming full circle, getting into the Siege Tower and creating the Entropy Blade, being overwhelmed anew, quests in the Foundry, murder mystery tour, mazes and disorientation, why Ignus if he's not in your party?, waking up with three incarnations, alignment changing, quieting the madness of the paranoid, the practical incarnation, the game as exploration of fundamental D&D tropes, how to build up your ultimate villain, return to the Blood War, all stories of the Nameless One returning to one place, branching storylines, how many endings are enough?, commitment to themes, diluting themes, attaching to particular themes vs making an argument, challenge RPG tropes, puzzles and dialog, using voice acting to establish character, voice as instrument, editing down lines, discussing the choice of next game. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: No Exit, Sartre, Encounter at Farpoint, Star Trek: TNG, Cthulhu, Fallout, The Seventh Seal (obliquely), Reed Knight, Jason Schreier, Iain M. Banks, Culture novels, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, BioShock, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Witcher, deathsausage q, Tony Jay, Rob Paulson, Animaniacs, Mitch Pileggi, The X-Files, Sheena Easton, Jennifer Hale, Keith David, John DeLancie, Dan Castanelleta, Charles Adler, Escape from Monkey Island, Chris Avellone, Half-Life, Starcraft, Metal Gear Solid, Jeff Morris, Doom (series), Dark Forces, Valve. Next time: Interview with Chris Avellone @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Black Isle classic Planescape: Torment. We talk about broad story beats, themes of identity and mazes, and the role of side quests, among other topics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Until you return to Sigil Podcast breakdown: 0:39      PST Discussion 1:03:18 Break 1:03:51 Feedback and giveaway Issues covered: character customization, a little chat about the big beats of the story, the weird conversation with Ravel, Brett is revealed to be a Night Hag, party configuration, character creation throughout play, the modron dungeon, the role of side quests, Deionnarra and her father, commitment to dialog and puzzles, side quests in JRPGs, wading into the lore, what strings multiple games together, the usability challenge of lore, playing rogue classes, the hybrid combat style, getting mazed by the Lady of Pain, a random encounter with a shade, how we pick games for the podcast, what we play vs what we develop, using strategy guides, shelf-level events, how you apply lessons from what you play, drawing. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Metal Gear Solid (series), Mega 64, Soul Reaver, Tony Jay, Darksiders 2, Dungeons & Dragons, Marvel, The Witcher 3, Final Fantasy (series), Baldur's Gate, World of Warcraft, LucasArts, Fallout, Tim Denton, Deus Ex, Kotaku Splitscreen, Hitman 2, Resident Evil, Fumito Ueda, The Last Guardian, TIE Fighter, Rogue One, System Shock, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Wasteland 2, Warcraft, BioWare, Secret World, Lord of the Rings Online, Daron Stinnett, Joint Strike Fighter, F-22, Tomb Raider, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton, Jamie Fristrom, Link's Awakening, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Reed Knight, SOMA, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Frictional Games, Chris Suellentrop, Tacoma, Spider-Man 2, Huizinga, Andrew-- if that is their real name, Aiemain, Bethesda Game Studios, Artorius01, Anthony Gallegos, RebelFM, Gazillion, The San Francisco Kid, Mr. Eric Anderson, Dark Horse Comics, Haden Blackman, The Force Unleashed, Mafia III, Hangar 13, 2K Games, Batwoman, Charlie Rocket. Next time: Finish the game Links: Tell everyone you're Adahn Jason Schreier's book Drawing: If you are "Andrew-- if that is their name," "The San Francisco Kid," or "Mr. Eric Anderson" shoot us an email. @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Black Isle classic Planescape: Torment. We talk about the usefulness of tropes (which this game mostly overturns), keeping your bearings when so much is available to you, and the uses of story and narrative to prop up underwhelming mechanics. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Ravel's Maze Podcast breakdown: 0:39 Segment 1 57:45 Break 58:17 Segment 2: Feedback/Questions Issues covered: permutations and open maps at the Clerk's Ward, open world games, quest UIs, tuning out the journal entries, Tim second-guessing himself, Lothar stealing Morte, alphabet soup names, Brett messes up Soego's name five different ways, how tropes give you a handhold, how The Witcher uses tropes and lore, culture: you're soaking in it!, anything can open a portal, evolution of usability, the game as maze, leaning on the journal, buying up all the items in the Curiosity Shop, tedium of fetch quests, lack of mechanical interest, being enthralled to the material, designing a puzzle platformer, marrying elements together to make something stronger, object-oriented ontology, diving deep into a thing and its mechanics and limits, the audience will decide, mainly an adventure game, thin mechanics, DA:I companion quests, Fallout as a better marriage of mechanics and story, playing as a character vs playing as a player avatar, "it's barely an RPG," combat difficulty, missing hack-and-slash, PST diverging from other Infinity Engine games, more combat and more combat difficulty in IE games, Heart of Winter mode, development divergence, finding a balance of narrative people can hang on to or not, the Brothel of Intellectual Lusts, discussing high points, whose head did you get?, Soego the wererat spy, multiple needles vs multiple haystacks, getting mazed, the zombie in the Coffinmaker's shop, the Alley of Lingering Sighs, metaphorical meaning, passion in game development, programming challenges in videogame development, moving to games from applications programming, waterfall vs iterative development, opportunities in 3D art, crossover with film, designers and passion, communicating through code, seeing branching vs taking branches, story vs systems in reader feedback. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Infinity Engine, The Witcher 3, Star Trek, Memento, Baldur's Gate (series), Andrzej Sapkowski, Beauty and the Beast, Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber, Anthony Halderman, Ian Bogost, Georgia Tech, The Atlantic, soccer, Tetris, Chess, Go, What Remains of Edith Finch, Giant Sparrow, The Unfinished Swan, Naughty Dog, Nate Wells (obliquely), Portal, Thomas Was Alone, Play Anything, Icewind Dale (series), Bioware, Interplay, Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons, Darksiders, Zelda (series), Diablo, Halo (obliquely), João Vitor Bispo Galvão, Aaron Evers, John Carmack, Fargo, Starfighter, Chris Corry, Andrew Kirmse, Unreal, idTech, Timothy Homan, Final Fantasy IX, Dragon Age: Origins, Bethesda Game Studios, Kurt Strock, Chris Mead, Deus Ex, System Shock 2. Point of Information: Nate Wells was the Naughty Dog Lead Artist (of The Last of Us) who went to Giant Sparrow that Tim and I were trying to remember. Next time: Until we return to Sigil Links: Video Games Are Better Without Stories, Ian Bogost  The Exceptional Beauty of Doom 3's Source Code   @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Black Isle classic Planescape: Torment. We talk about how the overwhelming nature of the beginning acts might have come about (again), Brett hits a game-breaking bug, and needles are sought in haystacks. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through Ravel's Maze Podcast breakdown: 0:43 Segment 1: PST (2:21 Aw Jeez) 1:08:00 Break 1:08:28 Segment 2: Feedback (1:10:10 Aw Jeez) Issues covered: May Day, how the breadth of quests of Hive might have come about, setting a bar for development, vertical slices, tutorial levels, taking a Starfighter level to alpha, trickle-down videogame economics, proving things to the money men, playing the high intelligence character, wererats and Brett's crash bug, Brett starts over with the Enhanced Edition, the Dead Nations and the Silent King, people of interest vs points of interest, needles in haystacks, intrinsic reward vs the extrinsic reward, quest items and characters, items being forced out of inventory, "what's in the box," how much do you let players explore, usability problems, missable trophies, making a developer's life easier vs a player's life easier, dangling quests, living with consequences, wanting a grey area vs clearly telegraphing to the player, watercooler talk, Nameless as a cipher for a player, being immortal, four factions in Fallout 4 and the end game, pen and paper vs computer RPG, "it's just text," systemic and forgettable vs specific and memorable, focusing on the macro at the expense of the micro, gif/jif, specificity of character, art direction, music composition. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin, nambulous, Chris Avellone, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Beamdog Entertainment, Interplay, Obsidian, Fallout: New Vegas, Bethesda Game Studios, Skyrim, Republic Commando, Troy Mashburn, Starfighter, Harley Baldwin/White-Wiedow, Tomb Raider, Factor 5, Totally Games, Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, Fallout, It Follows, Soul Reaver, Breath of the Wild, Darksiders, Fallout 3, Mass Effect (series), Dragon Age (series), The Witcher (series), Reed Knight, Star Trek: The Next Generation (obliquely), Fallout 4, Far Cry 2, Final Fantasy (series), Jade Empire, marcus, Jesse - if that is my real name, Rorytheperson, James Taylor, Henry and June, Jen and Lia Longo, Dave Collins, Jesse Harlin, Arrrrrrjay, Fargo, Kotaku Splitscreen, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton, LucasArts, Eric Johnston, Mark Blattel. Next time: Through Ravel's Maze Links: Brett appears on Kotaku/Splitscreen @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, where we are discussing 1999 Infinity Engine classic Planescape: Torment. We talk a bit about franchise fatigue, turning tropes on their heads, turning back historical design choices, and discuss some of what we saw as we played. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Up through the Undercity Podcast breakdown: 0:37     Segment 1: PST Talk 49:53   Break 50:26   Segment 2: Feedback, next time (51:28 Aw Jeez) Issues covered: Tim's bachelor party (really!), franchise fatigue, turning tropes on their heads, unexpected games, opportunities to unbalance a game, level curves, the meanings of systems, combat complexity, interface opacity, inability to die, shedding the arcade design sensibilities, finding a wider audience, matters of taste, finding ways to improve usability and recovering from mistakes, deliberate design choices for aesthetics, first microtransactions, winking at the player, breaking out of patterns, accreted design in D&D, stats mean more than level, more adventure game than RPG, overwhelming Hive area, map markers and POIs, seeing more of Hive than intended, Brett's many Hive quests, Tim getting killed and awaking underground, playing by different rules, deflating a quest, player distress and tension, sifting for what's important, portals everywhere and everything a key, creating a secret with every fact, working with the same tech and toolset again and again, hardware generations and changing expectations, user feedback and reviews, GDC, the connections between Ueda's games. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: D&D, Rich Davis, Geoff Jones, Haden Blackman, Star Wars, Mysteries of the Sith, Tomb Raider, Halo (series), Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Final Fantasy (series), Infinity Engine, Diablo, Soul Reaver, Republic Commando, TIE Fighter, Ultima (series), Ms Pacman, Spelunky, Stefan Schmidt, Fallout, Tolkien, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling (obliquely), Black Isle, LucasArts, SCUMM, Chris Suellentrop, Shall We Play A Game?, degreekelvin, Jonny Whitlam, MacDork, knowitman, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Link to the Past, Harper Hadley, TeeJay, Fumito Ueda, 3D Monster Maze, Sinclair Timex ZX81, The Last Guardian, Glixel, Rolling Stone, John Davison, Shigeru Miyamoto, Robert Gunardi, Super Metroid, Chris Avellone, Gothic, Piranha Bytes, Elder Scrolls (series), Witcher (series), Reed Knight, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, Day of the Tentacle, Maniac Mansion, King's Quest, Sierra, Wizard and the Princess, Shin Megami Tensei, Persona (series), Chrono Trigger. Next time: Through Ravel's maze Links: Fumito Ueda on Glixel The Wizard and the Princess on the Internet Archive @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to Dev Game Club, which this week begins a new series exploring 1999 Infinity Engine classic Planescape: Torment. We situate it in time both against other games and the D&D license but also especially as the pinnacle of Interplay's Infinity Engine games, and then dive into the first section of play. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: Through the Mortuary Podcast breakdown: 0:41   Segment 1: History and discussion of play 53:20 Break 53:54 Feedback Issues covered: situating game in time, D&D licensing, rendered 3D backgrounds, 2nd Edition D&D rules, licensed settings, boiling down ADnD, D&D rules implementation as selling point, the Planescape license as a setting with various realms all tied together, veering away from Tolkien, what computers are good at and what DMs are good at, storytelling settings yesterday and today, looking for variety as a creator, hybrid combat system, preferring full real-time or full turn-based, huge map sizes, non-gridded play area, being confused by the opening cutscene, waking up from the dead with Morte, sense you've been in this situation before, avoiding the problem of the Chosen One, flexible stories, simple character creation, attribute choices, establishing the character as important but not knowing why, slowly introducing the setting, dialog options, making amnesia work (and being in concert with the setting), great story hook, setting up your first quest, the missing journal, bouncing off the game, Brett looks for a good metaphor (and fails), tons of descriptive text, subverting player expectations, making Morte humorous, not liking Morte, less use of voice, Brooklyn cabbie, Minsc, subverting character expectations, fluid alignment system, getting your experience from dialog options, having to look at everything, finding a key vs Tim taking a portal, analyzing games. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Black Isle, Infinity Engine, System Shock 2, Soul Reaver, Unreal Tournament, Quake III Arena, Longest Journey, C&C Tiberian Sun, Homeworld, BioWare, Baldur's Gate, Gold Box Games, SSI, Dungeons and Dragons, Final Fantasy (series), Day of the Tentacle, Icewind Dale, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, TSR, Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, JRR Tolkien, Monster Hearts, Friends at the Table, Chris Avellone, Archie Comics, Shadowrun, The Chronicles of Amber, Roger Zelazny, Saga system, Diablo, Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, Kenneth Lee, Ultima, Memento, Link's Awakening, Reed Knight, Fallout 1/2, Obsidian, The Witcher, mathboxers, Mr. Eric Anderson, Kotaku, Matva_88, Call of Duty, This War of Mine, Darksiders, David from Houston, Mike D/TBC Generation 0, Fallout New Vegas, Tales of Zestaria, Beamdog, Jeffool, Breath of the Wild, Link Between Worlds. Next time: Through the Undercity Links: "That One Time It's Different" blog post  @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to our fifth and final episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We are lucky enough to interview Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, Producer/Lead Programmer and Art Director respectively on Fallout as well as two of the three founding members of Troika Games. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Podcast breakdown: 0:38        Interview with Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky! 1:01:10   Break 1:01:35   Geek-outro Issues covered: the Wild West of early studio game development, the meta-installer, making engines in your spare time, tabletop after-hours, abstracting the operating system, GURPS character generator, working you way up, pizza and game dev, RPG renaissance, bold theme choices, filtering passionate ideas, making your dream game, career paths into game development, clubhouse Interplay and a creative atmosphere, business incursion, from the garage to the office park, right place right time, QA preferring your game over being paid, By Gamers For Gamers, making your colleagues laugh, companions in scripting, wearing multiple hats, making a Tarrasque into a Death Claw, making heads from clay and digitizing, cavalier oblique and making the tools work, bringing various sensibilities to the game, throwing a party for your return, a family of talking raccoons, finding your creative partners, system and story *should* work together, what makes good level design, digging yourself a big hole, exposing variables and state to designers, managing teams of small size, ambient music, art influences, Vault Boy instead of icons, voice talent, everything coming together, consequences, "games should be fun," freedom, setting the world on fire, Tim Cain's grandfather and mother, constraints and necessity, Fallout DNA. Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Interplay, Maxis, Stonekeep, Troika Games, Arcanum, Vampire: The Masquerade, Blizzard, Diablo III, Obsidian Entertainment, Grand Slam Bridge, EA, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, Jason Anderson, Carbine Studios, Wildstar, Rags to Riches, Lord of the Rings, D&D, GURPS, Earthdawn, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Black Isle, Wasteland, Tolkien, Mad Max, Doom, Nintendo, David Byrne, How Music Works, CGBG, LucasArts, Super Metroid, Star Wars, The Simpsons, Chris Taylor, BioShock, Ken Levine, Ambient Isolationism, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, Monopoly, Richard Dean Anderson, Richard Moll, Tony Shalhoub, Ron Perlman, David Warner, CCH Pounder, Night Court, Monk, Wings, Fallout 2, The Inkspots, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Dr. Strangelove, Fallout 3, Jonah Lobe, Temple of Elemental Evil. Next time: Resident Evil! Play up until the Residence (past the shed). @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to our fourth episode examining 1997's classic RPG Fallout. We finish off the game, discussing our various choices, and then turn to the various pillars we draw from it. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: The base and the Cathedral Podcast breakdown: 0:35    Segment 1: Finishing Fallout 45:12  Break 1 45:50  Segment 2: Pillars and Feedback Issues covered: going back to the Glow, voice acting, sharing assets between various animated characters, criminal underworld quests, the liberation of playing and letting the chips fall where they may, missing out on content, growing an audience by offering multiple play styles, murderous Tim Longo, blowing up the base, satisfying cinematic resolution, getting stuck on the force fields, obscure solutions to big problems, the many uses of the radio, close quarters rocketry, stealthy super mutants, inventory loophole and managing weight limits, hardened power armor, carrying useless items until the end of the game, stopping in empty tiles (including the ocean), UFO, multiple ways to resolve the Master, holodisks and the Pipboy, accounting for followers and not, tying off storylines with little snippets, character consistency and leaving the Vault for good, melancholy, fascist Vaults, selfishness and survival, unintended consequences that matter and hard decisions, the RPG renaissance, permitting risk in RPG settings, mature themes and elements, Senate hearings on violence in videogames, filling a story-telling vacuum, avoiding the good/evil binary, giving characters meaningful motivations, getting XP for non-violent actions, reader feedback, Bonus Content: Wasteland 1 & 2, Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Keith David, Dishonored, Bioshock, Fallout 2, Citizen Kane (obliquely), Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta, Final Fantasy X, Super Metroid, Star Wars (obliquely), Mad Max, JRR Tolkien, Bioware, Icewind Dale, Black Isle, D&D, Arcanum, Troika Games, Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, Jason Anderson, Temple of Elemental Evil, Vampire: Bloodlines, Mass Effect, Ultima series, Ultima VIII/IX, Lionheart, Planescape: Torment, Baldur's Gate, Bard's Tale series, Wayne Cline, LucasArts, ESA, Mortal Kombat, War and Peace, Brian Luzietti, sixty second shooter prime, Jamie Fristrom, Day of the Tentacle, Telltale Games, Double Fine Productions, Fallout: New Vegas, System Shock 2, The Witcher series, GURPS, Stefan Schmidt, Neo_Ouija, Cat-charlie, Mikael Danielsson, MrFutile, Swinlo44, Resident Evil, Kitty Horrorshow, Chyrza. Next time: For our next series, we will be playing Resident Evil! Looking for an interview for next week. Links: Brett's Twitch channel Brett's YouTube channel Brett's Streaming Horror from a couple years back @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

Welcome to our final episode in our series examining Super Metroid. We delve specifically into the last couple of boss battles and the concomitant storytelling, and spend some time thinking about our favorite areas. We also talk about the pillars and takeaways of the game. Dev Game Club looks at classic video games and plays through them over several episodes, providing commentary. Sections played: End of the game! Podcast breakdown: 0:47    Section 1: Final bosses, storytelling, and Zebes's areas 42:12  Break 1 42:55  Section 2: Takeaways, listener feedback, next game Issues covered: Tim wants to be a pill bug, Samus's backstory and narrative wrappers, feedback/feed-forward loop, player skill, being stuck near Ridley, difficulty curves, developer blindness to difficulty, earning the end vs other Nintendo titles, Space Pirates, map problems and telling the player what they can find, controls difficulty, storytelling in the endgame, Christian the lion, getting to know the world, difficulty adjustment, creature design in Maridia, scale and creature design of Wrecked Ship, broken glass in Maridia, quicksand physics, genre creation through exploration structure, moments of discovery, "quarters aesthetic," attract mode, digital vs analog gating, feedback to the player, teaching NPCs, content that only some people see, knowing what you get with other media, progression in mechanics vs in numbers, time investment, iTunes review, miniature play in tabletop RPGs, character builds (broken and otherwise). Games, people, and influences mentioned or discussed: Daniel Johansson, Nintendo Power, Jungle Book, Metroid Prime series, Final Fantasy IX, Starfighter series, Legend of Zelda series, Mario series, Assassin's Creed III, Shadows of Mordor, Siegfried and Roy, Deus Ex, Warren Spector, Halo, System Shock 2, Shigeru Miyamoto, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, The Witness, Idle Thumbs, Chris Remo, Ori and the Blind Forest, Stephen King, Elana Ferrante, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rydrum2112, Fallout, Ultima series, Might and Magic series, Wizardry Series, Gold Box series, Baldur's Gate, Infinity Engine, Black Isle, Interplay, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios. Links: Christian the lion! Next time: Fallout, up until but not including Junktown @brett_douville, @timlongojr, and @devgameclub DevGameClub@gmail.com

In this episode, Soren interviews game designer Chris Avellone, who is best known for his work on Fallout 2, Planescape: Torment, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and Wasteland 2. He is currently working at inXile Entertainment on Torment: Tides of Numenera. They discuss why he owes his career to publisher desperation, how Torment reflects that players only care about themselves, the mystery of how Black Isle lost the D&D license, and why game writing is overrated.

This week Steve and Roland drink organic Scottish ale, and great news, disagreement returns after a long break. 

Felicity Evans visits the Black Isle to hear how residents are collecting memories of the landscape, before they are forgotten forever. The Killearnan Memories Group meets to share their knowledge of this part of the Eastern Highlands in order to preserve it for future generations. Members of the group have grown up on the Black Isle and have memories and stories about the physical landscape which they are using to create a written archive. This movement has been inspired by a project run by Cait McCullagh from Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH), in which Black Isle residents gathered together to remember buildings, sites and other aspects of their heritage, using old maps and photographs as inspiration. Produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Mark and Noah have another gauntlet-run episode where they discuss Black Isle returning, Diablo III's end game enhancement, how awesome game journalists are and more.

Greetings! This week we talk about several games and spend quite a bit of time talking about KOTOR 2 and the recently finished fan patch, which spirals into a conversation about the legacy of Black Isle studios. We talk about some other stuff too. Then we move on to letters.  This week's music, in order of appearance: Baroness - Take My Bones Away;  Inverse Phase - Atarible Lie

Leon, James, Karl and Sean emerge from the Vault to relive their time with Bethesda’s Armageddon RPG Fallout 3. Was the mutation from Black Isle’s isometric third person 2D to GameBryo’s expansive first person 3D essential? We’re also […] The post Fallout 3 – Cane and Rinse No.35 appeared first on Cane and Rinse.

In the final part of our Black Isle trilogy we feature storyteller and poet Margot Henderson who works in Findhorn. She chats to Ryan about her preoccupation with nature, traditional folk stories from the area and dialect. We also get to hear a few poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

In the second of our Black Isle trilogy, Chris Powici, editor of Northwards Now, discusses his magazine with our intrepid Ryan in Residence while they were both up in the Black Isle last month. We get to hear a poem from the latest issue and hear Chris's views on the literary magazine culture in Scotland as well as get an insight into his editorial musings. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk and @anonpoetry. Email: splpodcast@gmail.com

We're up in the Black Isle this week with poet, novelist and short-story writer Angus Dunn, one of the founders of the Black Isle Words Festival. He talks about how his work comes from a sense of feeling at home in the Black Isle, why he eschews publishing a poetry collection and we also get to hear a few of his poems. Presented by Ryan Van Winkle. Produced by Colin Fraser of Anon Poetry Magazine http://www.anonpoetry.co.uk Music by Ewen Maclean. Twitter: @byleaveswelive & @anonpoetry. Mail: splpodcast@gmail.com