Me Elsewhere: On Virtual Newsstands Now

We interrupt the usual trumpeting of others’ work for a blast of shameless self-promotion.

The debut issue of Continue Magazine, which takes a broad look at games and gaming, is now officially on sale. It includes my article on the noir bona fides of the video game L.A. Noire. So why not buy it now?

Me Elsewhere: Tinker Tailor, Video Game Player

I’m hanging my hat in a few other places this week. At Crimespree, I have a brief review of the impressive new adaptation of John Le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And at the work blog, what I learned in a year of playing video games.

Bonus link #1: Mike Seely’s profile of my friend Murray Stenson, bartender extraordinaire, in Seattle Weekly. It also provides a fine look at the city’s active cocktail culture. Make sure to watch the video of Murray working his magic behind the bar at Canon.

Bonus link #2: An interview with my friend Eddie Muller – from the apartment where Dashiell Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon, no less – as Noir City 10 approaches.

Me Elsewhere: On L.A. Noire

Just how noir is the video game L.A. Noire? I answer that question in an article in the newly launched Continue magazine, devoted to gaming culture. The debut issue including my article Pixels & Shadows is now available in preview form online.

Miscellaneous: Noir to Spare

Time for another post on the whole “wonder of me” thing. Bonus points to the first person to name the movie I just quoted from.

To begin, the latest and dare-I-say greatest issue of Noir City, the magazine of the Film Noir Foundation, is out today. Donate to the FNF and a copy will be winging its way to you. It’s gorgeously designed by Michael Kronenberg and brother, is it packed with goodies. Including:

- A lengthy tribute to the King of Noir, Robert Ryan

- Alan K. Rode on boxing noir

- Dan Akira Nishimura considering the dark side of Joan Bennett

- Jake Hinkson’s appraisal of Mickey Rooney’s noir career

- Eddie Muller interviewing Daniel Woodrell, of Winter’s Bone and presidential reading material fame

As for yours truly, I’m represented by not one, not two, but three pieces. For the Ryan salute I take a look at my favorite of his performances in Act of Violence. I review the video game L.A. Noire. And I interview the creative team responsible for the new stage adaptation of James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity premiering at ACT Seattle in October. If I do say myself I’m proud of the range of these articles, showing noir new and old taking root in different media.

Speaking of which, last week I posted the trailer for March 32nd, the video game on which I’m toiling as head writer. We spent the weekend promoting the game at PAX, complete with green screen studio. The Escapist was there, and their correspondent calls our supernatural noir detective game “one of the strangest, most intriguing titles I’ve seen in quite some time.” Go read the article and stay tuned for updates.

Shameless Self-Promotion: March 32nd Teaser

I’ve spent enough time telling you people about good books and movies, providing interviews with talented authors. It’s high time this blog focused on its most important subject. Me.

Among the assorted irons I have in various fires is March 32nd. I am inexplicably the head writer of this video game, a wildly ambitious project that will tell a single story over the course of multiple episodes. We’ve assembled a terrific team of writers, designers, coders and filmmakers. We’ve started production with a talented cast of actors. And, after four years in development, we finally have a teaser. One that showcases our signature art style.

March 32nd Teaser from Chromed on Vimeo.

The full March 32nd crew including yours truly will be at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle this weekend. Stop on by the booth – you can’t miss it, it’s a portable green screen studio – for your chance to be a character in the game. Time it wrong and you may even be directed by me.

On The Web: L.A. Noire at Crimespree

One of several reasons why posting has been somewhat scarce around here lately is that I’ve gone down the rabbit hole that is L.A. Noire, the new video game from Rockstar and Team Bondi. Over at Crimespree, I offer a review.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t steer you toward this piece on the game by Extra Lives author Tom Bissell at Grantland. More than a review, it’s a consideration of how L.A. Noire prefigures massive changes in storytelling. A brilliant, must-read take.