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. Watch episodes with full video on YouTube Discuss this episode in the Insert Credit Forums 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 itch.io says it was taken down by Funko Pinkerton Magic publishers sent Pinkerton agents to a YouTuber’s house to retrieve leaked cards Rockstar Games Red Dead Redemption II The legal dispute between Take-Two, Rockstar, and Pinkerton has ended Tengen Mario “Super Powers Reach Exclusive Agreement” poster Tetris Atari Tommy Tallarico Intellivision 6: What is the TCM documentary about the making of The Day the Clown Cried of video games? (41:16) Citizen Kane (1941) The Day the Clown Cried From Darkness to Light (2024) The Tetris Movie (2023) Duke Nukem Forever Gearbox Software Half-Life: 25th Anniversary Documentary Peter Molyneux Project Milo Jay Benson Firewatch Jerry Lewis Playing Columbine (2008) Sonic the Hedgehog 2 LIGHTNING ROUND: Burning Questions (47:51) Recommendations and Outro (51:34): Brandon: Play Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams… Frank: Play Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit with curious kittens if you have the chance Ash: Mouthwashing Chris: youtube.com/chrisremo, The Brutalist (2024) This week’s Insert Credit Show is brought to you by Charles Greenberg and patrons like you. Thank you. Subscribe: RSS, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!