This month Collin is joined by Aleks from our essays department as well as special guests Ruby (Codex Entry) and Spencer as they explore the very nature of art and entertainment as the concepts apply to the medium of video games. That is to say, do games need to be "fun" to be "good"? 

With a special focus on Ice Pick Lodge's cult classic Pathologic, the conversation juxtaposes the subject at hand against the mediums of theatre and visual art and explores the value of unpleasantness when a piece of art "pushes back" against its audience.

#62 The Bitter Rind: Exploring the Paradoxical Attraction to Punishment and Extreme Difficulty

Mega Chad Slovakia Papers Please Based And Jorjipilled

lyrics:

they say i talk too much abt it let it go, the same ones thas suppose to be my bros, the same ones thas suppose to be 10 toes, the same ones thas suppose to never fold

theres alot of things i wish i never told, but if i never did my body would turn cold, u missed dem packs i hit dat jugg lil boi u sold, i was dat nigga even b4 i made soul

theres been alot of ways niggas tried to change me, they say im good they say my music is "amazing"

how das yo "brother" if u competing in fame g
if i go up, then u go up but you'd prolly snake me

if i go up, u go up
wit da drugs, fell in love
lmk what u want
dont giv a fukk
dont giv a fukk
i sold my soul what i said to her
she saw my face she the only one

kiss the mouth of a loaded gun
ill kiss the mouth of a loaded gun

silence <imdead>

This track is part of the original soundtrack of an unfinished video game project.
Caligo Bellica, developed by 13 Lucky Number.

In this action and strategy game, we are this young person who must hide from the gaze of the elite, while trying to rescue our family.

This loopeable track, called "From Now On" corresponds to the first level of the game. 

The song begins with an almost lonely guitar, representing our protagonist who must hide, but not stay still. The percussion, coming from the body of the guitar, makes a typical drum and bass rhythm, encouraging the movement. Electric and powerful sounds begin to appear, representing our enemies and increasing the tension. The piece culminates with the ominous sounds of brass, confirming that the war is already here. At that point, the guitar returns, totally solitary, without metallic murmurs, but the loop resumes, as everything has changed from now on.

The visual artist of the illustrations, scenarios and models:
IV GM
https://www.instagram.com/iv___gm/
https://www.artstation.com/iv_gm

Caligo Bellica - From Now On (Video Game OST)

oh boy! here we go! glory to Arstotzka! the greatest country!

original composition (as well as track art and sound samples used) by Lucas Pope
arranged in MuseScore 4.5
recorded, mixed, and mastered in Audacity

Glory to Arstotzka (Papers, Please tribute)

The votes have spoken!
I am very proud of this one. It's much more ambitious than the first, and the chord progression was way clearer to me now than it was back then. I took some inspiration from Gustav Holst and Tchaikovsky in this regard, as their writing seemed fitting for such dissonance.
Regardless, I like the result. Should I release this on streaming platforms?

I also had an idea of maybe trying to orchestrate a theme for each of the countries in the game. Let me know if you'd like to see that!

Original from Paper's Please by Lucas Pope.

Paper's Please - Death Theme - Orchestral Remake

Только никому не говори 

Music Producer, Composer and Sound Designer 🎛️ 🎹 🕹️
➤➤➤ youtube.com/@Yananna-wav

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╚═╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╩═╝ 
➤➤➤ COMMISSIONS OPEN!

+𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮.
+𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀.
+𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 ⋆⁺₊✧

Each song was produced, composed, mixed and mastered by me. 
Each track has its own particularity according to the musical genre, but every piece was made with all my heart, with the intention of telling a story through the sounds in time.

No audio generative artificial intelligence is used at any point in the process.
Just old sampling techniques, real recordings, virtual and real instruments performed by me.
(Same applies for SFX)
DAW: Reaper


© 2025 Yananna. All rights reserved.

#noaimusic #noai #chillvibes #nostalgicbeats #musicproducer #soundtrack #madebyhuman #humanmusic

I make music for games and films!
Open to DMs on Discord!
_nitsu

The First Person Scholar Podcast it advocates for a new dynamic, one in which we demonstrates our relevancy through timely, rigorous, and accessible criticism that challenges all players to engage in what Mary Flanagan calls critical play.

The podcasts we produce encourage players—be them developers, scholars, critics, or enthusiasts—to consider alternatives to popular interpretations of games,  game play, and games culture. Through this discourse we seek to establish and sustain a critical conversation amongst those producing and playing games, demonstrating in the process that the player is a figure capable of enriching and challenging our understanding of games and what they are capable of.

First Person Podcast is produced by Collin Walsh in association with the Games Institute at the University of Waterloo. You can find us @FPSWeekly, or start a conversation using the #FirstPersonScholar on Twitter.

New tracks tagged #papers please