Blogging, Work, Gallifrey and 2015

100 Happy Gaming Days are finally over and to be honest I'm quite relieved. It wasn't that I wasn't enjoying writing it, it's just after a numerous delays I wanted to move on to something else. It was also difficult to keep up with posting on a daily basis when I already work 40 hours a week, plus I got hooked on watching Doctor Who and reading Batman comics so that set things back a bit.

If it wasn't for 100 Happy Gaming Days however, this blog may not have even lasted this long because when I started I had no idea what to write about. There's some things I could/should go back and fix, for instance the Strawberry Cheesecake Mochi on Day 5, so when I get some time I'll go back and get things into some sort of order ... although it is nice to see how things developed.

So, what's next?

I've got hundreds, if not thousands, of short recordings waiting to be turned into full songs. I have the necessary kit to compose the music, I just need somewhere permanent to mix/master the tracks. I ideally want to produce retro game inspired soundtracks, perhaps I'll finally pick up a Prosound Gameboy and use LSDJ. (^_^)

The Bobby and Jules comic is also waiting to be done, I haven't done much drawing since the summer so it'll be great to get started on that again.

And sometime in 2015 we'll be renewing our PC's and whatnot, so hopefully my YouTube channel will return. \ (^_^) /

Day 15 out of 100 Happy Gaming Days: LSDJ

Little Sound DJ is a music workstation intended for use with the original Nintendo Gameboy. The software was developed by Johan Kotlinski and is designed to make full use of the audio capabilities of the Gameboy and is used by many chiptune artists.

There is a slight learning curve due to the whole piece of software being controlled by the Gameboy's 4 buttons and a D-Pad, but if you persevere for a few hours you should be able program a piece of classical music with relative ease. Included is an in-depth sequencer, arpeggiator, a nice selection of samples from various drum kits samples from machines such as the TR-808 and the ability to sync two Gameboys via link cable for added polyphony. 

Obtaining the software isn't too difficult, just wander over to the LSDJ website and pay for a license to use LSDJ. This however, only gets you the file as Johan no longer flashes the ROM onto Game Paks, so you'll need to find someone offering this service unless you know how to do this yourself. I used kitsch-bent and they were awesome, got the cartridge over to me very quickly for a reasonable fee.

Alternatively you can use plugins like the Magical 8bit Plug from YMCK, that can be used with most popular DAW's, or Rhythm Core Alpha 2 on Nintendo eShop for 3DS which is pretty much based on LSDJ and is a great title to have installed on your console for when you're feeling creative.