ONE SHOT: PANDATSU’S MOMENT OF INSIGHT
Another Musho Rodney Alan Greenblat Zen piece, which he summarizes thusly: “Pandatsu was once the head monk of the remote Boo Temple. One day while sweeping he had a moment of insight.”
Available as an original watercolor via his Whimsyload store.
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ONE SHOT: A MEDITATION ON THUNDER BUNNY
I’ve somewhat inadvertently spent the better part of the morning revisiting the newer, Zen-inspired works of Musho Rodney Alan Greenblat — best known as the artist behind Parappa the Rapper and UmJammer Lammy — and so, offered here is a small peaceful piece featuring his Thunder Bunny.
The illustration is from a larger, wordless book called Thunder Bunny Nature, which you can purchase here, or view in its entirety here, and serves as a companion piece to an iPhone app I’ve only just realized existed called Thunder Bunny Weather, which seems slightly broken on Western phones, but which I somehow have no regrets about purchasing regardless.
See more posts about: Musho Rodney Alan Greenblat, One Shot, Parappa, Thunder Bunny, UmJammer Lammy
ONE SHOT: FORT AWESOME’S “MY FIRST ROCKBAND”
The above illustration of PaRappa and Lammy jamming (umjamming?), rendered on a page from a music book, is part of a series of prints available for sale at Fort Awesome’s Etsy Shop. The illustrations of the various videogame characters are cute on their own, but their juxtapositions on vintage book pages elevate them to tongue-in-cheek whimsy.
See more posts about: Offworld Originals, One Shot, Parappa
LAND OF THE RISING SUNNY: SIMON PARKIN’S NANAON-SHA STUDIO VISIT
Says UK journalist and Offworld contributor Simon Parkin of his latest upstart photo series WorkStation:
Offices are offices, whatever their location, but having visited a number of development studios across the world, I still find it interesting how diverse they can be in the details. You can tell so much about the minds and ideas that inhabit a desk just by looking at the detritus on and around it.
WorkStation aims to be an intermittent feature, offering a window into the development environments of studios around the world.
And he’s started it off in as wonderful a place as I could imagine, Parappa dev NanaOn-Sha‘s Tokyo studio, with, as above, a full size figure of WonderSwan oddity Rhyme Rider Kerorican and more Parappa/UmJammer Lammy merch than you could ever fathom. Visit Parkin’s Chewing Pixels blog for the whole set.
WorkStation #1: NanaOn-Sha [chewing pixels]
Previously:
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PARAPPA CREATOR MATSUURA WAXES ON RHYTHM GAME INDUSTRY
Gamasutra’s also carrying a very nice interview with Offworld favorite developer Masaya Matsuura, head of NanaOn-Sha and creator, of course, of PlayStation icon Parappa the Rapper.
The interview touches too many points to single out just one, but generally covers a lot of Matsuura’s approach to the music/rhythm game industry — a genre he played a very large part in founding, but now seemingly feels somewhat estranged from how the beast he helped birth has evolved.
Asked whether he ever intends to create a music game that, like Rock Band and its ilk, uses instrument peripherals, he stresses that his approach comes from the other end — making software to support the interface, rather than focusing on a peripheral to come at the software:
I really love real instruments — really love. The game peripheral feels like it’s very similar to an actual guitar, for example, but it’s a little different for me.
As I told you, I really want to feel as if I’m playing the actual guitar… Of course the game controller and the real guitar, there’s a very big difference between them, but if I can overcome these kinds of differences by making good software…
Maybe that is what’s interesting to me. I really want to make the experience appeal derive from playing the software. It’s a very potent thing.
There’s more good stuff in there as well on bringing his lesser known PlayStation cult hit Vib-Ribbon back in some form (watch this intro video immediately if that’s the first you’ve ever heard of the game), and his thoughts on developing for the iPhone.
Marching To His Own Drummer: Masaya Matsuura’s Thoughts [Gamasutra]
Previously:
Nintendo's Wii/DS outlook: The Offworld view – Offworld
A Brief History of Rhythm – Offworld
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RODNEY ALAN GREENBLAT ORGANIZING ZEN TEMPLE FUNDRAISER
Parappa, UmJammer Lammy and Major Minor artist Rodney Alan Greenblat — now often going by his newly bestowed Buddhist name Musho — is coordinating a December 13th holiday market for his New York City Zen temple, The Village Zendo, including a table of his own prints, postcards, posters, and “a few unreleased product items too, including some funky little ceramic flower vases made in Japan.”
Greenblat’s own web store has a preview of much of that artwork, as well as a slew of import only and original Parappa and UnJammer goods, and fantastic Buddhist statuary done in his inimitable style.
Hello Zen! holiday market 2008 [Village Zendo NYC]
See more posts about: Musho Rodney Alan Greenblat, Offworld Originals, Parappa
