Project Tempest
C J Halbard
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Tempest Bay is a fictional place to make stories about being human. As we build Tempest Bay at www.project-tempest.net, this podcast is where we have conversations as creators about what's on our mind. Frequent topics include creative process and inspirations, local history, writing, books, video games, mental health, and things we love.
Thank you for being part of the journey with us.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
2 days ago
James Everett, extending reality (long)
A wide-ranging conversation with https://twitter.com/jamese?lang=en (James Everett), game designer, creative producer, co-founder of https://www.nzxr.dev/ (NZXR) (the XR stands for Extended Reality). His Canada-New Zealand journey has included Ubisoft, Sidhe Interactive, Magic Leap/Weta Workshop, and Dr Grordbort's Invaders.
Covered:
Personal creative journeys & inspirations
Moments in game design that change us
The challenges and possibilities at the bleeding edge of Extended Reality
Mentioned:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21481566-the-inheritance-trilogy (The Inheritance Trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin
https://store.steampowered.com/app/403640/Dishonored_2/ (Dishonored 2), a masterpiece of systemic game design and worldbuilding
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44767458-dune (Dune) by Frank Herbert
http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/ (Passage,) a 5 minute game about life and death
https://www.hire-intelligence.co.uk/the-future-of-xr/ (A brief history and overview of XR) (Extended Reality), the umbrella term encompassing Virtual & Augmented Reality technologies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awQULNGYSJo&feature=youtu.be (James at the NZXR Summit) talking about core principles of XR design
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1026228/Creating-Dr-Grordbort-s-Invaders (James at the Game Developer's Conference) talking about Invaders
Producer for this podcast is Kearin Armstrong.
Nov 30, 2020
Creative tangles and American buffalo (short)
The next Project Tempest story is nearly done! It's been quite the tangle, but navigating strange waters keeps the job interesting.
Mentioned:
Contact us on hello@manonfire.org if you're a creator who can hold a good conversation and would like to have that conversation on the podcast.
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Stand-George-Grinnell-Buffalo/dp/0803226802 (Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West), by Michael Punke, author of The Revenant. In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, an American buffalo herd once numbering 30 million animals was reduced to twenty-three...
Producer for this podcast is Kearin Armstrong.
Nov 2, 2020
Ed McRae, Writer & Narrative Designer (long)
A rollicking conversation with https://www.edmcrae.com/ (Ed McRae), kiwi LitRPG author, narrative designer and narrative paramedic for the video games industry. Ed's been a screenwriter and story designer for over 13 years, and was lead writer on the hit online RPG Path of Exile.
Covered:
Personal creative journeys & inspirations
Why we're each excited about the future of NZ horror
Move over the old guard - what's coming next in storymaking
Mentioned:
https://thunderlotusgames.com/spiritfarer/ (Spiritfarer), a cozy management game about dying.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6763664/ (The Haunting of Hill House) on Netflix, a ghost story.
https://www.youdontreadcomics.com/articles/2019/12/1/lets-talk-about-the-invisibles (The Invisibles) by Grant Morrison, a 90s comic about a secret organisation battling against physical and psychic oppression using time travel, magic, meditation, and physical violence.
https://stephenking.com/works/novel/needful-things.html (Needful Things) by Stephen King, about a monster that brings out what’s monstrous in everyday people.
Producer for this podcast is Kearin Armstrong.
Oct 19, 2020
Sunlit hills and twisted adventures (short)
A quick catchup on the Wellington weather, what's next for Project Tempest, and a couple of haunting adventure games.
Mentioned:
https://www.failbettergames.com/sunless/ (Sunless Sea), in which Victorian-era London has been moved beneath the earth's surface to the edge of the Unterzee, a vast underground ocean.
http://kentuckyroutezero.com/ (Kentucky Route Zero), a magic realist adventure game, with deep shades of David Lynch.
Producer for this podcast is Kearin Armstrong.
Aug 5, 2020
Trailer - Welcome to Tempest Bay
A quick preview of the Tempest Bay podcast, to whet your whistle and help you know if this is something you might be into.
I'm C J Halbard. I live in Wellington, New Zealand, near the ends of the earth.
We're building an imaginary place called Tempest Bay and filling it with stories. Quirky, very human stories about the people in this small Kiwi town by the sea, living their lives in a world going mad. Horror stories, of a sort, but with a lot of humanity, creativity, local history woven in.
If you're a Dylan Thomas fan, imagine Under Milk Wood mixed with HP Lovecraft. That might be a good way to put it...
Producer for this podcast is Kearin Armstrong.