Our 2021 Video Game Playlist

Last time, I shared my students and my favourite tabletop games in response to a request from a colleague for game recommendations. You can read that list here. This post is dedicated to some of the video games my students or I are currently playing (or recently completed).

My Video Game List

Human Fall Flat: This game hooked me with the trailer. It’s a cheeky platformer where you solve puzzles as you explore the world. Play with a friend (or more) for even more fun. The tutorials are cheeky yet helpful and it’s wonderful that there are multiple ways to solve a puzzle. Here’s a bit of my early gameplay with my brother, which showcases this perfectly:

It Takes Two: I just started this game last weekend. This is a co-operative platformer in which you and a friend play a couple on the verge of divorcing. Their daughter wishes for her parents to become friends again, which puts their souls into two of her dolls. They must complete several challenges, repairing their fractured relationship in the process, in hopes of returning to their bodies. The game mechanics and the variety of the puzzles are amazing. Unfortunately, parts of it triggered a migraine, so this is on hold for now.

The Dig: This game was a huge nostalgia trip for me. I was filled with a sense of déjà vu while playing it. I am fairly certain that I played the original version back in the 1990s. You play the commander of a team sent to plant explosives into an asteroid to steer it off of its crash course towards earth. Thing is, the asteroid is really a spaceship, which transports the team to a distant planet. Explore the deserted planet, unravel the technology as you attempt to find a way back home. Here’s a bit of my gameplay about a third of the way in:

Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise: I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure story puzzle game. You play Agent A, a secret agent tasked with infiltrating Ruby La Rouge’s secret hideaway to stop her nefarious plans.

Shing!: This was a fun, button-mashing beat up baddies game with quirky characters and an interesting story. The battle mechanics were a bit different from say, Samurai Warriors but once I got the hang of it, very ingenious.

Honourable Mentions: Katamari Damacy Reroll, Pixel Junk Monsters Ultimate, Cat Quest II, Pikuniku, Rogue Glitch

Video Games That My Students are Playing

Animal Crossing: You play a human who lives in a village with humanlike animals. Explore the world, go fishing, bug catching, and fossil hunting. 

Minecraft: Players can explore the block-filled world, mine for resources to create all sorts of things. Or go on battle mobs and much, much more. Play by yourself, friends or others in the Minecraft community. Some of my students enjoy creating their own worlds in Minecraft, while others go on massive PvP (Player vs. Player) battle mobs. There are so many new additions to the Minecraft franchise to keep players coming back, year after year.

Among Us: This is an online, multiplayer murder mystery. You and your friends are part of the crew on a spaceship. While you’re working through your task list, one or more alien imposters are skulking around, killing the crew. After each death, the crew meets in the cafeteria to try solving the murder mystery before the impostors take out the entire crew.

Roblox: Roblox is another online gaming platform geared towards students. There are numerous user-created games for players to explore, from adventure games to battle games, and from puzzlers to platformers, and everything else in between.

Super Mario: This is perhaps the first platformer game that most gamers try. Since then, numerous other games have cropped up, expanding the Super Mario World. Catchy music.

Call of Duty Black Ops - an extremely popular first person shooter game. This is part of the Call of Duty franchise.

Genshin Impact: This is an online action role-playing game. Explore the world, go on quests, level up your skills and weapons - the long way (by gaining battle/quest experience) and/or the faster way (paying real money for upgrades).

Honorable Mentions: Paper Mario: Origami King, Bloons TD6, Call of Duty, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Just Dance, Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverley Academy, Grand Theft Auto 5 , Pkmin 3

That’s it for now, from the Studio. What are some of your favourite video games? Drop them down in the comments below.

Online Music Games, Virtual Tours & Concerts

This week, my students and I are exploring various online music games and going on virtual tours. I figure we can all use a lighter load this week and some fun projects to “work” on over the Christmas Break. Here is a quick list of what we have been exploring:

Online Music Games

Orchestra from the Magic Flute: Students listen to a short clip, featuring an instrument in the orchestra. They have to correctly identify the instrument for it to take to the stage.

Channel Scramble: Test your ear to identify which channel has been assigned to a particular instrument.

Kandinsky: Create a painting and hear what it sounds like.

Rhythm: Can you click on the pattern of dots in time without missing a beat?

Spectogram: Check out spectograms created when instruments play a short clip. Create your own.

Name that Note: Personally, I like Note Rush more but for a Zoom lesson, this works.

MusicTheory.net Exercises: Good for note reading, ear training and theory tutorials

Virtual Tours

Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the Musical Instrument Museum boasts an extensive collection of instruments from every country in the world:

Check out Studio Bell’s Speak Up! online exhibition, featuring many talented Indigenous Canadian musicians.

Pianist, composer and history nerd Thomas Little takes us on a tour of the National Music Museum in Vermilion, South Dakota:

The final virtual tour offered during the 2020 Tiqets Culture Festival (showcasing virtual tours of museums around the world) was a virtual tour of the ABBA Museum. Catch the replay here:

Check out this virtual tour of The Beatles Museum in Liverpool:

Finally, the Morgan Library & Museum (NY) takes us on a virtual tour of Beethoven’s workshop:

Virtual Concerts

This fall, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra has been offering free live stream concerts on Fridays. Register in advance to watch live or the replay.

The Metropolitan Opera offers nightly streams of past performances. These are available for free and each production is available for a limited time.

The Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall offers free digital concerts. Register for access.

Do you have a favourite online music game, virtual tour or concert that isn’t on this list? Drop it down in the comments.

New Site, New Blog

Sometimes, we just need a fresh start. Managing a Wordpress multsite with several blogs while juggling music teaching, freelancing gigs, and trying to get Maestro's Music Tricks off the ground simply wasn't working. 

My webmaster hat and writer's cap have collected quite a bit of dust over these past few months. A bit of website decluttering and reorganizing was well overdue.

When I undertook the project of revamping my dojo's website, my dojo mate in Saskatoon and I settled on using Squarespace. We found the process of building a new site that could be managed by members from our different training locations a relatively smooth process. Web maintenance has been a snap because Squarespace manages all the plugin and framework updates. I can only assume that they are dealing with brute force attacks because we haven't had any issues with our club site.

It's been working so well, that I decided to take the plunge and migrate my site to Squarespace. So, here we are.

The other big decision I made was to consolidate all of my blogs. All six of them. The separation by topic to do different branding only makes sense if one has time to put into branding them individually, which I don't. As for the "new" blog name, as much as I loved the names for all my blogs, The Musical Muse is the only one that could cover all the topics I write about.

It will take some time to tidy up the blog posts to make them fit their new home. It will also take some time to get the Maestro's Music Tricks e-store built. so please be patient. In the meantime, if you would like more information on my gamer-inspired music practice aid, please drop me a line.

Photo credit: Philip Wilson

Film Director Philip Spink on The Godchild

In this exclusive interview, writer/director/producer Philip Spink discusses the filming and production model his latest work, sci fi fantasy The Godchild.

In Part 1of this exclusive interview, screenwriter, independent film director and producer Philip Spink discussed sci fi TV and films, coming home and filming his indie film, The Godchild. In this final segment, Philip reflects upon his cast, the film music and the filmmaking model used to make The Godchild.

Philip Spink on The Godchild Cast

Casting was critical for the project to go ahead. The audition process was long but gave Philip an opportunity to pick the best actor for each role. “I was so lucky with some of our main actors. Once I had them, I knew that I could do this film.”

The role of Peter was portrayed by Grant Spink (Knights of Bloodsteel). “I needed someone who could spend incredible amounts of time doing special effects with, would always be there, explained Philip. “It worked out perfectly for that. He fit the part perfectly.”

Kari Townsend (The Call, Who Dressed You This Morning?) was cast as Sister Beth Myers. “She brought ferocity to the character,” remarked Philip. “She really empathized with the character who is a strong-willed woman who has had a tragic past.”

“I knew I wanted someone exotic,” said Philip regarding the role of Peter’s doctor, portrayed by Steve Dhillon (Money, ODC, 419: The Nigerian Scam). “I needed someone who could play a brilliant, dedicated doctor who has some guilt about leaving his homeland…When Steve showed up, he was perfect.”

Michael Heltay (Knights of Bloodsteel), who plays Sister Meyer’s friend Bernie, has worked with Philip Spink on several productions. “I wrote the part for him,” he said. Bernie does provide some comic relief in The Godchild. “I knew Mike could pull that off really well.”

Riah Fielding-Walters (The Wizard's Christmas) played Peter’s teacher. “It’s a character who is constantly battling her insecurities and her fears and trying to overcome them,” said Philip. “She brought such sensitivity to the role.”

Hazel Valdez is fairly new to the acting scene. As Sister Valdez, she is a balancing effect on the rest of the teaching staff. “You could really see her commitment on screen,” he said. “She has a very good technique and wonderful comic timing.”

When writing the screenplay, Philip, with help from co-producer and wife Zuzana Novak, kept each actor’s talents in mind. “I was able to hone the script and craft it to their strengths. They did a great job.”

Music Production for The Godchild

The film music for The Godchild was composed by Canadians Peter Jancewicz and James Guttridge. “With the combination of Peter and Jim, I was able to get the music I needed for the film without monopolizing their time.”

The Godchild marks Jancewicz’s debut into film composing. “It’s like having Chopin or Beethoven in the same city,” said Philip. “He brings such a sense of gravitas and sensitivity to his music.” Jancewicz is a Calgary-based composer, music teacher, clinician, writer and adjudicator, whose compositions are published by Alberta Keys and Alfred Music Publishing.

Guttridge has collaborated with Philip on several projects, including Voyage of the Unicornand Knights of Bloodsteel. In the realm of film music, “he’s a real heavy hitter,” he quipped.

Heavy hitter indeed. Guttrridge won a Leo Award for Best Musical Score (Once in a Blue Moon) and an International Television Award (Dinosaur). He also received Gemini, Leo, and Grammy nominations for his work on Voyage of the Unicorn and Kung Fu Killer. Most recently, Guttridge scored the music for Sy Fy Channel's TV drama Riverworld (2010), which stars Tahmoh Penikett (Cold Squad, Battlestar Galactica).

Modeling The Godchild on Quebec Film Productions

“Wouldn’t be nice if we could make our money back in Alberta like they do in Quebec?” posited Philip. “Quebec filmmakers are supported by Quebeckers.” He set out to achieve that with The Godchild. “We can prove that you can make a film in Alberta, make your money back and then start marketing it beyond the province.”

Another goal for keeping a low-budget independent film was to keep costs affordable to viewers. At $5 a ticket, “it’s a pretty good deal,” said Philip “Hopefully it will move you and in the end, you say, ‘I’ve got my money’s worth.’ ”

The Godchild premiered in Calgary, Alberta on Saturday, October 9, 2010, which I reviewed on my Stumbling Still blog. This sci fi fantasy film was written, directed and produced by Philip Spink and stars Kari Townsend, Steve Dhillon, Riah Fielding-Walters, Michael Heltay, Grant Spink and Hazel Valdez.

Originally published October 16, 2010 on Suite 101. Updated March 22, 2013. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.

Interview With The Godchild Director Philip Spink

In this exclusive interview, writer/director/producer Philip Spink talks about sci fi TV and films, coming home and filming The Godchild.

Philip Spink is recognized in the North American film industry as a skilled commercial director, as well as for his work on action miniseries and TV fantasy movies such as Voyage of a Unicorn. He is the screenwriter, film director and film producer of The Godchild.

This indie sci fi fantasy film hit theatres on October 9, 2010, his latest work. It explores the space time continuum through one unique boy's journey in search for a lost loved one and universal truths. Independent film director Philip Spink chatted with me when I worked with Suite 101 prior to film’s premiere.

Philip Spink, Leading Canadian Commercial Director

Philip Spink grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He began his professional career as a classically-trained artist and illustrator. In the 1990’s, Spink relocated to Vancouver, BC and began working in the film industry, working on commercials. Gradually, he gravitated towards film making.

Spink directed various TV series and movies, including KidZone and Ronnie & Julie (1997). The latter work garnered actress Alexandra Purvis a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in the young actress category.

Spink’s Journey From Commercials to Award-Winning Sci Fi TV

“The genre draws me in,” said Spink of science fiction fantasy. “It takes you to another place.”

Not surprisingly, Spink debuted as a screenwriter/film director with a fantasy film. Once in a Blue Moon (1995). The production earned a Genie nomination for costume design and won a Leo Award for Best Musical Score.

In 2009, Spink directed Knights of Bloodsteel, a fantasy TV miniseries for RHI Entertainment that featured Christopher Lloyd. Some of his other TV series and miniseries have appeared on Showtime TV, Spike TV and the Sy Fy Channel.

Spink earned international recognition with the Hallmark Channel TV miniseries Voyage of the Unicorn (2001), which starred Beau Bridges (Stargate SG-1, The District), Chantal Conlin (Tru Calling, Life as We Know It) and Heather McEwen (Young Blades, The Baby Dance). Voyage garnered numerous awards and nominations, including a Gemini for Best Special Effects and a Leo Award for Feature Length Drama: Best Cinematography, Feature Length Drama. It also earned a Primetime Emmy nomination.

Spink Returns to Alberta

After living on the west coast for over 10 years, Philip Spink returned to Alberta, settling down in Calgary. “I have kids and wanted them to be close to relatives,” he explained.

The move didn’t hamper his work, fortunately. “As a director, it doesn’t matter where you live,” he said.

However, Spink wanted to produce something in Alberta. “I really wanted to work where I lived. I really wanted to get a project of my own off the ground; so I tried to design a project that I could do here with local actors.” This project was The Godchild.

Local Talent and Low Budget can Equal High Quality Film

Philip Spink’s goals in making The Godchild. were three-fold: to develop a high quality movie with a low to mid-range budget, to use local talent and to make it an independent film. Pitching films to networks can be challenging at times, which prompted the decision to work outside the system.

“It’s very difficult to do something unique and original because you have to go through so many hoops,” he explained. Teen comedies and westerns are much easier to sell to networks. As an independent film production, Spink was unencumbered by pressures and politics of network or film production companies.

(In Part 2 of this exclusive interview with film director and producer Philip Spink, he talks about the cast, music and production model of his latest work, The Godchild. This sci fi fantasy film premiered in Calgary on October 9, 2010 and was by me on my Stumbling Still Blog.

Originally published October 16, 2010 on Suite 101. Updated March 22, 2013. All rights reserved by Rhona-Mae Arca.