Updates on the way

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Nathan Meunier

I’m currently in the process of re-designing the site and re-thinking what kind of content I’ll be posting here in the future. Rather than a dumping ground for my writing clips, I’d like to expand the way I use this space. Aside from my steady gaming-related freelance writing endeavors, I’m also working on a book and continually churning out chip music projects. I’ll be doing some music for an upcoming indie game in the near future as well. So the regular posts my be a little slim for a bit while I complete the re-design and figure out how I want to use this space. Thanks!

Off to PAX East!

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

Heading off to PAX East for the weekend for a serious explosion of geek awesome. Equal parts work trip, book research opportunity, and chance to totally nerd out, my trek to Boston for the East Coast debut of PAX should be a wild time. I’ll be covering the convention for various print and online outlets as well as likely posting some other stuff here about my time. Check back next week for links to my coverage and a rundown of how things went.

On Freelancing in the Gaming Industry – The Freelancers

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

There’s been some very interesting game journalism-related discussions flying around the internet lately. Amidst the doom and gloom and ensuing debate over whether being a freelance game journalist is a viable profession (in short: it is, if you work your ass off), I accidentally stumbled across a more productive and highly entertaining source of game freelancing-related discussion. The Freelancers is fast becoming a must-listen podcast series for anyone with even a passing interest in game journalism – whether you want to know how to get involved or are have already been in the game for years. Run by freelancers Xav de Matos and Kyle Horner, the regular bi-weekly show tackles a broad range of game journalism-related subjects and regularly features interview discussions with well-known writers and editors. Kudos for stepping up to the plate guys, now let’s all pay attention and get involved in the discussion.

Grab Some Indie Love

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

Until Friday the 19th, you can pick up six awesome indie games for a super low price with The Indie Love Bundle. The package includes And Yet It Moves, Aztaka, Auditorium, Eufloria, Machinarium, and Osmos. $85 worth of indie games for $20? Oh hell yeah.

Foecrusher on Bytejacker!

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

I have long been a fan of the extremely well-crafted weekly Bytejacker web show and its focus on highlighting some of the most ass kicking indie games around. Indeed, judging from Free Indie Rapid Fire, my man Anthony Carboni (above) and I have very similiar tastes in freeware. The show also features a steady supply of rocking chiptune goodness that provides a great backdrop, which brings me to why I’m so pumped this morning. Aside from offering a killer rundown of great games from the past year, Bytejacker episode 70 also features “Charge into Battle,” a Foecrusher track from my recent forays into the realm of Game Boy metal. Frankly, it’s an honor. Hop on over to Bytejacker and check out the latest show (and the other excellent episodes available), and if you’re keen on scoping out more of my Game Boy metal tracks, hit the link above to find Foecrusher tunes on 8bitcollective. Also, that is one adorable pooch.

Foecrusher – Game Boy metal

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

File this one under: just for fun. Blip Fest 09 (at least what I was able to experience of it) was a total blast. I haven’t written, recorded, or performed music for years, but it was fun to get out and go hands-on with one of the most fascinating music scenes around. I’ve made Game Boy music before, many years ago, but never released any of it. After re-acquiring some (reasonably well) functioning Game Boy hardware and a copy of LSDJ, I’ve set out to create some new face melting chiptunes in the genre of heavy metal. I’ll be posting my tunes for live streamage as I finish them over at 8bitcollective. The project is called Foecrusher and my first track “Sword of Awesome” is available to decimate your ear drums. Enjoy.

UPDATE: Two new tracks added! Check out “Silence 15 Foot Radius” and “Charge Into Battle.”

K.K. Slider Destroys Your Soul

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

This is possibly the best thing I’ve stumbled across all week. Found completely by accident, it’s a clip of every single K.K. Slider song ever created being played ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Feeling like having your mind destroyed? This will do it. I laughed through the whole thing, almost puked in my mouth, and then laughed for another few minutes after. So good. So wrong. It’s the sound of armageddon. Check it out here.

NerdRockstar.com – Yes, I just went there.

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

A fine purveyor of t-shirt geekery and great things. Also love the DIY spirit. Hit the link if you believe nerdcore is not dead and feel like spreading the word.

My Week In Review

Posted on August 8, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

Despite the slower game release schedule this month, it’s been a good week in other ways. Finally landed my first print feature for a major gaming mag. The issue will be out in November-ish. I’m not going to say much about it yet, so I don’t advertently jinx myself. Needless to say I’m excited, and it’s extremely gratifying to finally be getting some non-digital ink flowing again. Writing for a newspaper is fun, but seeing your work in a glossy mag on the newsstand is very different. There’s a possibility several other print opportunities will solidify in the near future. However, I’m waiting on baited breath to see what happens. I also recently started doing some casual gaming coverage for Gamezebo, which is a nice change of pace.

Aside from the day-to-day freelance work, there’s a lot of interviewing and research going on behind the scenes in my spare time. I’m making a lot of progress with contacts and info/quote gathering for the book project. Finally got a chance to check out Nerdcore For Life (thanks Dan L.), which is a great film about the geekier (RE: awesome) side of hip-hop. If you’re into that kind of thing, also check out Nerdcore Rising. Anyhow, back to work.

Busy months ahead

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

Interviews with nerdcore rappers and other various purveyors of geek music deliciousness continue to progress nicely. Should soon have enough research and interviews completed to be able to tackle the first third of the massive writing project that’s simmering, temporarily code-named “Awesome Geek Music Book You’ll Hopefully Want To Buy” for now. Starting to dig deeper into video game cover band and chiptune scenes. In the meantime, the desk is cluttered with review copies of games I’m mostly looking forward to playing and a decent list of writing work I need to get cranking on. Full steam ahead!