The Indie Mine » Joseph

Those City Lights, EP Absconding Reality Released

Joseph — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:51:35 +0000

When Rogue Records America signed their newest indie music group back on January 11, they weren’t enlisting another metal band; they added a talented duo with an ambient orchestral sound that persuades your ears to lend attention. If you haven’t heard the sounds of Mark and David of, Those City Lights, take a listen to a track while I share a bit from the conversation I had with the artists themselves.

While their passion for making music was apparent, there is more to them than a simple desire to “make it big”. Take Mark for example. His musical background includes playing string instruments at a young age and fronting for the metal band, Fortesque, during high school. For him it means much more: “Personally, for me, it’s a good escape… I can just lose myself in it.” This translates well as David seeks to create music that influences others. When asked what it means to him, he responded: “Hrm…for me, it’s nothing so personal. Rather my intention is to evoke emotion in our listeners, hopefully haha.” If you’ve listened to their music, you may have found it easy to lose yourself in the atmosphere that quickly brings you to another place and time. Go ahead, click that play button!

You would expect the duo to have met at a concert or even grown up together. It isn’t quite so. Having interest in the same kind of music brought them to the same internet community. Realizing that that their goals and passions aligned brought them to RRA as a team. What is so refreshing about their music is that is isn’t scripted or on rails.

“Inspiration… would probably just have to be raw emotion, its almost 100% improvised so what comes out is pure passion, we don’t make many decisions it just happens, people can expect something completely new and different, a real emotional roller coaster.”

Their debut EP entitled “Absconding Reality” is out now and available for purchase on BandCamp or you can snag it on iTunes or Spotify. Like any new band they spoke of the soul searching done during the development. While they certainly lean towards the powerful and emotion-evoking sound in the early tracks of the album they evolve to a more upbeat style as it progresses. It certainly reminds me of the old days when you grabbed your favorite CD, found a quiet place and let the music take you on a auditory journey.

If you want to hear more of Those City Lights, get yourself a copy of their EP release here or visit them on facebook. If you need some serious interaction with their music and need a visual, check out the animation that the track Requiem (Sophie’s Song) is set along with. You may want to grab a tissue; this is powerful stuff.

Those City Lights was formed late 2011 by David Hurst and Mark Weller, creating music crammed with emotion the duo is inspired by such artists as; Scale the Summit, Andy Mckee, Olafur Arnalds and Hans Zimmer. Through the use of both technical guitar elements and massive orchestrations TCL produces unique soundscapes and ambient textures.

Rogue Records America Sign Those City Lights

Waveform Interview with Eden Industries

Joseph — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:30:05 +0000

In our site’s very first audio interview, Joseph talks with Ryan Vandendyck, founder of indie game development studio Eden Industries. Ryan recently released his game Waveform on Steam and the response so far has been very positive. Check out the full interview below and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube feed to check out all future audio and video content from The Indie Mine.

Waveform is currently a 2012 Independent Propeller Awards finalist, and for good reason. In our interview, Joe and Ryan talk about what it took to bring the game to its high level of polish and professional execution. The game is currently available on Steam.

Game Review: Telepath RPG Servants of God

Joseph — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:52:44 +0000

It isn’t often that you’re treated to decent voice acting in an indie title. Telepath RPG: Servants of God, by Sinister Design, breaks this mold in a pleasant fashion. With a lengthy text based story, the game aims to keep your attention by letting you listen rather than read. The voice acting is performed superbly, especially for the character Arman, but that will do little for the gamer who isn’t going to invest in the story. This game requires player immersion to appreciate all it has to offer.

The top-down camera style is upheld throughout and supported by excellent hand-drawn watercolor pictures. Character animations seem basic both in and out of battle, but the environments, accompanied by pleasant music, are lush with detail when combined with appealing flash-style graphics. I was highly entertained by traversing in a world akin to Disney’s Aladdin… if only I could have found a magic flying carpet!

The Marketplace, an early location in Telepath RPG Servants of God

If the story doesn’t appeal to you, the gameplay may not either. The battles are a puzzle/tactical hybrid containing tutorial-like sequences until about an hour or so in. There are plenty of skills, magic orbs, and character customizations to acquire. Unfortunately, you shouldn’t expect to see even a small bit of that until after ten battles or so.

Another barrier occurs during installation. The process is clumsy and requires third party software. Granted, this program is Adobe AIR and not a hidden magic lamp, but for the price I’d expect the installation to be easier than making a wish to a big blue genie. If you have a dire need for tactical RPGs, dig up the earlier titles in the Telepath series first. They’re mostly available for free and playable within your browser.

If you enjoy reading, perhaps you are the type of player this game appeals to. For $25, you get an epic novel set within a video game; conversely, you could always go get a slew of other titles for less. The story takes shape like a “choose your own adventure” book and the ending is driven by your own actions. This is somewhat difficult to follow, however, because there is little indication of which path you are currently on.

Arman is a dark mysterious character who has dealings with some unsavory folks

What Telepath RPG has to offer is really quite fun and interesting; unfortunately, Sinister Design chose to half-pack it in a clumsy installer and layer it with an hour of tutorials and foreshadowing. Once I got into the game, I enjoyed it, but it is difficult to recommend spending more than you would pay for many AAA games. Considering the monetary and time investment required, one must be a fan to warrant a purchase. The rewards are there, it just takes a bit to get to them. There is no instant gratification here. This one is heavy on the “R” and light on the “P”. For my money, it would be worth waiting until the price drops to get your hands on this “G”.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆