#90's game

[retrogamingblog2]

[eternvlsound]

[huariqueje]

Good Fortune - Karolina Swidecka , 2022.

Polish , b. 1976 -

Acrylic on canvas , 80 x 100 cm.

[babyb3lls]

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎! ♥︎⋰✌︎

[visuac]

[yodaprod]

1993年

[cute-girls-from-vns-anime-manga]

Creators of Mullet Madjack really knocked it out of the park making her design!!!

Also the game is fantastic! Go wishlist it if you like FPS games!

[nineties-effect]

[thepermanentrainpress]

UNDER THE RADAR: DECEMBER 2022

Hope everyone got to ring in 2023 with their loved ones! 🎉 We’re throwing it back for December’s Under the Radar only, featuring releases from Eleanor, salt sword, Touray, Isobel, chengcheng, and Buddie.

1) Eleanor - “Make Sense”

“No, please don’t need your worries / Just looking for a place to voice my woes freely.”

Ontario’s Eleanor and her mother feel familiar in the sense of a generational gap, and how those differences are bridged. A conversation between the pair that reflects on “missed deadlines” and milestones not yet reached, it voices both fear and frustration. Carrying concern and urgency can work together to mend if communication exists, built on respect and a conscious effort to heal and understand. It becomes easy to overlook others’ feelings (namely a child, or a parent and grandparent) in set expectations, and Eleanor hones in on the disappointment and anxiety young people so often experience.

Her tone has a trying and fighting spirit, gripping in the speech-like delivery atop the R&B/soul soundscape. The way her upper register lingers is beautiful. “Make Sense” has heightened emotions that casts light on reconciliation and common ground.

Written by: Chloe Hoy

2) salt sword - “90′s game”

Cool and impassioned is experimental pop wonder “90′s game,” a personal recollection of artist Colin Ablitt’s ‘new kid on the block’ chapters early in his life. About “identities and faces” and the confusion it bestowed, the single’s video game focal point is largely appropriate. I felt the disassociation and urge to please and prove, while haunted by the characters of one’s past (“I’m bursting in flames but you don’t hear the sound”). Adaptability is the overarching theme, and is juxtaposed with harsher synths and drums that capture the essence of an outsider in an big new world. It opens with a poem constructed out of samples from a 1950′s instructional video and references familiar gameplay in labyrinths, save functions, and boundary breaks.

"90′s game” is painstakingly imaginative and sensitive, searching for belonging in all the entanglement.

Written by: Chloe Hoy

3) Touray - “Where I’m Going” 

Touray’s “Where I’m Going” captures both the bright-eyed and disconcerting energy of young adulthood. It piles on the guitars – dazzling and chaotically paced – and is steeped in melancholic delivery. “Wake me up in June / when city grass is colder than my heart,” the London-based artist remarks in his urge to feel alive. Its blaring chorus really pulls out the emotions of the song: ecstasy, fear, peace of mind. Coloured from an early 2000s indie rock palette, "Where I’m Going” teases at dissonance before folding seamlessly into itself.

Written by: Natalie Hoy

4) Isobel - “Miles”

A self-described “sad girl winter ballad” couldn’t be more accurate for “Miles.” Feeling blue and romantic is an unfortunate pairing, but it can create the most sincere piece of art in how loss and love intertwine. While written about a first love and the shared memories, the sentiment holds the same weight for any relationship that has run its course (willingly or unwillingly). Isobel collaborated with Andrew Lo (keys and strings) and producer Benjamin Paul de Caiman; I love the levity in the layered arrangement.

It’s very validating towards the emotions felt for another and the situation (“didn’t wanna roll up my sleeves / didn’t wanna cover your heart”) – becoming self-assured is a journey. "Miles” shows us that time and distance form appreciation, and that falling prey to nostalgia is precious time to learn and grow.

Written by: Chloe Hoy

5) chengcheng - “Boundaries”

"Boundaries” is songwriter/pop producer chengcheng’s debut release. Despite a stylish dance pop beat, the track divulges raw feelings about a past relationship and goes so far as to include voice memos sent between him and his ex. It feels bright and provocative, with an accusatory tone nestled in its summertime bass line. Calling out the disposability of some modern day relationships, “Boundaries” is delivered with confidence; anything to make it hurt a little less.

Born and raised in Shanghai, Chengcheng Tang obtained a bachelor’s degree in music production and engineering from Berklee College of Music before relocating to Los Angeles. His debut EP is expected out early 2023.

Written by: Natalie Hoy

6) Buddie - “Sunday Morning”

They bring a new meaning to lazy Sundays—shaken and resilient in an unfamiliar environment we used to take for granted. Led by Daniel Forrest, the band originated in Philadelphia before being reassembled upon Forrest’s move to Vancouver in fall 2021. Lyrically, the song explores disruption and familiarity, but has a cozy indie rock meets power pop sound. Buddie evaluates their interactions and approach to life, bearing a rebirth at song’s end that is earned (“We have tools to dig the roots out / and replant with lilac”).

They’re attentive to a balance between relaxed and exasperated, much like how society has moved forward. The primarily instrumental final third is harmonious. A style that is empathetic but can still debate, the act impresses with their new release. Transplant EP is out now.

Transplant by Buddie

Written by: Chloe Hoy

[90s-2000s-barbie]

1995

[shoomlah]

Friday was my last day at Valve.

Leaving a job full of people and projects you love is always hard, but I have a pretty good reason for it this time around:

Next Monday is my first day at Cyan.

Feels appropriate to announce this on Riven's anniversary, the game that is entirely to blame for who I am as a concept artist and Art Director. WHO WOULD I EVEN BE if I hadn't had my 11yo mind blown by the little wahrk gallows counting toy in the Rivenese schoolhouse??? It's a mystery.

I can’t talk about what's on the horizon just yet—short of helping to get Riven out the door—but I’m thrilled to finally be a part of this studio, officially, after thirty years of wistful pining. If my ancient Riven fanart is anything to go by, it's been a long time comin.'😎

[retrogamingblog2]

[eternvlsound]

[atomic-crusader]

[babyb3lls]

[s-pyder]

🕷️Game Boy (1990)🕷️