Ep. 369 - Wednesday Difficulty, with Chris Remo

Composer, designer, and puzzler Chris Remo joins the panel to cover how specific instruments evoke moods in games, Mad Libs as branching path narrative, and VR’s Myst problem. Hosted by Alex Jaffe, with Frank Cifaldi, Ash Parrish, Brandon Sheffield, and Chris Remo. Edited by Esper Quinn, original music by Kurt Feldman.

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SHOW NOTES:

• Metroidvania
• Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
• A Christmas Carol
• Charles Dickens
• Scrooged (1988)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
• Die Hard (1988)
• A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
• Vince Guaraldi
• Sesame Street
• A Christmas Story (1983)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
• Elf (2003)
• The Elf on the Shelf
• Will Ferrell
• Thurl Ravenscroft
• The Nutcracker
• English National Ballet
• San Francisco Ballet

1: What’s the right way to modulate crossword puzzle difficulty? (06:04)

• The New York Times crossword puzzle
• Will Shortz

2: What particular moods or vibes in video game soundtracks are most closely associated with specific instruments? (12:24)

• Vibrato
• Tubular bells
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Homer
• Fez
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Sega Genesis
• New jack swing
• Roland Synthesizers
• John Carpenter
• Demonschool
• Danganronpa

3: Did any of those Wordle clones have any merit? (16:41)

• Wordle
• Tetris
• Simple and Clean
• Mad Libs
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Twenty Questions
• Spelling Bee
• Connections
• Wheel of Fortune

4: If I haven’t been convinced to get into VR by now, am I beyond reach? (22:53)

• Batman: Arkham Shadow
• Half-Life: Alyx
• Beat Saber
• Oculus
• Myst
• Half-Life

Insert Credit Quick Break: Charles Greenberg (33:27)

5: Death Strandicoot asks, what are some interesting company interactions or rivalries in gaming? (34:41)

• Regular Show
• Funko
• Itch.io
• <a href="h