#ste curran

[fancypantsrecords]

Various Artists - Chime Sharp | Self-released | 2017 | Black

[gamesirl]

Chime Sharp

The original Chime, a ‘charity’ game, was a great puzzler. It was slight, occasionally mechanically clunky, but made with real vision and love. Drawing inspiration from Tetris, as well as the Miziguchi helmed Lumines, it was an exploration into the hypnotic quality of block puzzlers and repeated musical phrasing. Every song or stage played differently, with the misshapen tetriminoes as well as the grid they had to fit into distinct, each feeling as distinguished as the varied soundtrack.

Free from the bindings of charity, the original 360 release (something of a proof of concept for developer Zoë Mode) migrated first to the PC in its mostly vanilla form, and then to the PS3 some years later in the expanded Chime Super Deluxe. The added heft was both a blessing and curse, with the whole thing feeling a bit less focussed, and the added tracks lacking the punch that made the more compact original such a joy to play.

In 2017, after two lacklustre rounds of crowd funding, and over a half a decade since Chime’s last outing, we have Chime Sharp. 

It’s a bit sharp. 

I use the word here not in a literal, tactile sense, or a sour, citrus sense, but rather in its intended musical definition. It’s just a shame that I don’t mean in a semitone about ‘C’ and below ‘D’ way, but rather a ‘I can hear the note you’re trying to hit, but you’re just a bit sharp’ way.

Still helmed by Ste Curran, the heart of Chime still beats in this latest incarnation, but the additional tracks and modes feel like a distraction. Progress feels more forgiving, the soundtrack leaps just a little too violently between genres, and the engine isn’t quite as smooth meaning that occasionally it commits the most heinous puzzle game sin of all by forcing what should be an unforced player error. It’s still a good game, but a game that suffers from bloat. Years of gestation and Curran’s desire to revisit the game that has largely defined his development career means that whilst this is unspeakably a labour of love, it sometimes falls short of the original’s greatness. Chime Sharp is slightly overcooked and overthought.

Chime is one of those games that got it right the first time. 

*Buy Chime Sharp HERE*

[jasonnally]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cel84_NiaPg) Check out the brand NEW Game #CHIMESHARP by @ChilledMouse & @TwistPlay & @SteCurran on the @playstation 4 This week. Game is awesome and pretty much TETRIS but pretty much futuristic but in a good way. Check out my Gameplay on @NalyoGaming

[rignv-blog]

Dive Into the Hypnotic Electronic Music Ambience with Chime Sharp Available on Steam Today

Dive Into the Hypnotic Electronic Music Ambience with Chime Sharp Available on Steam Today

British game publisher Chilled Mouse announced today that their anticipated music puzzle title Chime Sharp is now available on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux. Chime Sharp returns as a bolder and more polished version of the critically acclaimed original Chimeand brings players a unique crossover between music and interaction. While players logically position various shapes on the grid, the…

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[mefightclub]

New on Gamefilter: Why everything and nothing is killing the game industry

http://ift.tt/1uMjBjz Posted October 24, 2014 at 07:24AM

[kierongillen]

Wanted to draw a little attention to this. Ste Curran (Ex-Edge, One Life Left, general inspiration) has done something a little experimental in the games writing field.

I'll let him explain it.

"The Queen" is the first in a series of short pieces that have piled up on my hard disk since my retirement from games journalism in 2003. Last year I was asked to read something at "Reads Like A Seven" and rather than resorting to my archive I took a chance on this. After the reading I was approached by a couple of editors who offered me the opportunity to publish -- but I declined. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Now I've had time to think and I've decided to try something. As an experiment in self-publishing I've recorded a studio version of "The Queen". Everyone can stream and listen for free but if you think it's any good I'd like you to pay a quid (or more!!!) to download it in a high quality audio format of your choice. If it's popular enough (say, 300 downloads?) then I'll record another one. And I promise to publish the download data in the text for INT#2, should it happen. Am I crazy? Is the piece worth it? Is £1 the right price? Is that target out of reach? I have no idea. But the worst case scenario is that a piece that was locked away inside my PC is available to everyone now. I'm fine with that. I hope you enjoy it.

I think that says the basics.

Follow the link to listen to it if you can't be bothered to scroll upwards to click the little embed. Consider donating a quid if you like it. It's a wonderful little piece, and I shamelessly gushed about it after I heard it at Reads Like A Seven. Give him fifteen minutes of your time, and you will be rewarded.

[chim-cheree]

I've never even played Dwarf Fortress, but I gave this a listen this morning and found it immensely enjoyable. From PC Gamer: "Thanks to its scope, Dwarf Fortress diaries trend towards being huge and epic undertakings. The Queen, by writer and game designer Ste Curran, is different, and it shows how dramatically the game's simulated stories can scale. It's touching and bittersweet. In fifteen minutes, it deftly encapsulates the drama, difficulty and abstraction at the heart of this frighteningly complex collection of ASCII. You should give it a listen."

[thisthingsoperational]

"Dwarf Fortress is a treacherous game; a video game like no other . . . it simulates the world for a group of dwarves whose aim is to build a permanent settlement in a high-fantasy wilderness. It is a mixture of 'Sim City,' 'Dungeon Keeper,' NetHack, Microsoft Excel, unfathomable magic and excruciating mental pain."

Ste Curran, The Queen

Video game fan or not, Ste Curran's Dwarf Fortress expose 'The Queen' is an affecting piece of journalism-cum-storytelling well worth the 16 minute listen (and £1 download if you're into that sort of thing).

Growing up on Nintendo Power reviews before falling into critical theory, it's still amazing to watch video game writing mature and become something "grownup."