Difference between revisions of "User:Squirminator2k/PortsCenter"

Revision as of 02:25, 2 February 2018

PortsCenter
Creator:	Ben Paddon
Pilot:	24th October, 2011
Latest:	1st February, 2018
Episodes:	51
Links:	PortsCenter at FilmJoy

PortsCenter is a webseries which looks at interesting and unique ports, conversions and re-releases of video games. The pilot episode launched on 24th October, 2011 and the show was successfully Kickstarted in August 2012 following an unsuccessful Kickstarter the previous year.

Production

The show is created, hosted, edited and written by Ben Paddon, better known to the Worms community as Squirminator2k. The original intent was to produce a season of 13 episodes, however the show continued and has grown steadily in popularity. The first season ended up being 24 episodes long. A second season of 15 episodes ran in 2014. The third season ostensibly started in 2015, with three episodes produced in 2015 and one in 2016. "Season 4-ish" began in June 2017.

The show was added to the Retroware roster shows - part of the Screenwave Media network - from August 2013 to December 2014. The show moved to Chainsawsuit Original in 2015. In October 2017, after a short stint on the spinoff channel Chainsawsuit Games, it moved back to the main channel, which was renamed FilmJoy.

Music

The show makes heavy use of library music. Early on, music from the Incompotech royalty-free music library was used. Occasionally music from the Ren & Stimpy music library is used - these episodes cannot be monetized as the music is not in the public domain. Public-domain classical music from MusOpen.org is also used. A chiptune rendition of "The Gonk" is occasionally used in episodes and promotional materials, with an updated version of the piece making its debut in a 2015 episode.

Occasionally, music from the game(s) being covered will be used in an episode - the Worms episode relies heavily on music from Bjorn Lynne's soundtrack for Worms 2, a game which was not featured in the episode itself.

The opening theme and title sequence used from episodes 001-043 was created by chiptune-rock artist Professor Shyguy. A new title sequence was used from episodes #044-050, utilizing a short piece of music from the game being covered, but the original title sequence returned for episode $051. As of episode #043, an instrumental version of Professor Shyguy's song "Keywords & Dubstep" is used to close out episodes.

Links to Team17 and the Worms series

Worms

• Episode #012 looks at the entire Worms series, from the game's initial release up to Worms Reloaded, omitting handheld releases. Special attention is given to the console ports of Worms, Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party. Worms: The Director's Cut is also briefly touched upon.
• Episode #018 focuses entirely on Worms: The Director's Cut and speaks on a technical level about the enhancements added to the game. The episode features usage of WormPrefs, the Sheep-on-a-Rope in use, and of Ben using the Graffiti Mode to draw what he describes as "a massive cock." This episode also includes footage from Worms 2, captured by GreeN. Episode #024 corrects an error mentioned in this episode with regards to the game's customization features.
• In episode #029, the PlayStation and Saturn ports of the original Worms are cited as examples of console ports that are identical to their PC counterparts, while the PlayStation version of Worms Armageddon is cited as an example of a port that has been cut down due to technical limitations. This is also explicitly stated to be the only mention of the franchise in 2014.
• Footage from the Worms table of Addiction Pinball is seen in episode #034.
• Footage from the Amiga CD32 port of Worms appears in episode #041.

Other connections

• Episode #010 takes a look at the MS-DOS port of Team17's cult platform game Superfrog.
  • Episode #037 follows on from this episode to look at the 2013 update, Superfrog HD.
• Team17 are mentioned in jest during episode #003 as the only company who cared about the Amiga circa 1994.
• Episode #007 looks at the Amiga port of Mortal Kombat, the music for which was produced by Allister Brimble who provided the music for many of Team17's early titles.
• Episode #039 looks at various ports of Lemmings, including Team17's own ports for the PSP and PlayStation 2, as well as their PlayStation 3 pseudo-sequel.
  • Footage from the PSP version of Lemmings later reappears in episode #049, which talks about remakes.
• The aforementioned episode #041 includes footage from the CD32 version of Ultimate Body Blows.
• Footage of Yooka-Laylee, developed by Playtonics and published by Team17, appears in episode #051.

External links

• PortsCenter.tv - Redirects to a playlist on FilmJoy listing every episode
• FilmJoy - Episodes #040 onwards are posted here
• PortsCenter on YouTube - episodes #000-#039 are found on the original channel
• PortsCenter on Facebook
• PortsCenter on Twitter