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It has been a busy summer here at CK, with lots of exciting projects underway. The last couple months have been especially unique, as we’ve had three art interns (two more than normal!) working with us in-house. We thought it’d be great to find out what types of media our interns enjoy when they’re not helping out at the studio. So…without further ado, here’s our very first It’s What We’re Into “Intern Edition”.

Temmie Chang: Children of Mana

Originally released in 2007, Children of Mana is a JRPG for Nintendo DS where players take control of one of four characters, wielding the Sword of Mana in order to save the world from utter destruction. While the overall plot is simple and pretty predictable, and the game doesn’t feel too ambitious or engaging, the visuals and the designs are simply outstanding. Although the characters don’t feel like they have too much depth, the battle and combat system are very easy to get the hang of and the game is pretty similar to its successors, The Sword of Mana and The Secret of Mana. “Grinding” feels very satisfying, especially while doing side quests, since the battle system is fun and the game’s visuals are just eye candy. It may not be a strong, story-driven game like Sword of Mana or Secret of Mana, but definitely consider giving it a try just for the amazing visuals alone.

Alexandra Bye: Shakey Graves, Roll the Bones

Ever since a friend showed me the Audio Tree recording of the song Late July, I have been hopelessly in love with the smokey sound of Shakey Graves. So much so that my Roll the Bones vinyl is cozied up right next to Crosby, Stills & Nash in my record queue. I don’t know much about playing the guitar, but I am intelligent enough to recognize that his playing is a thing of beauty.  I’m not going to try to explain any further – the music is something you just have to experience for yourself. So grab a glass of lemonade, whiskey, or whatever beverage gets you in that cabin-esque, wanderlust mood, and have a listen. Check it out for yourself here!

Hailey Thurrott: Final Fantasy XII

Released in 2006 for the Playstation 2, Final Fantasy XII is a great installment to the franchise, and yet is rarely talked about. Between the music, storyline and superior vastness of the world, this RPG deserves so much more credit than it has received. The storyline itself presents arguably the most mature and dark plot of the franchise. Rather than driven by character drama and romantic-tension, the game follows a larger storyline of war, rebellion and political intrigue. The real gut-kicker (in the best way ever) is the visual impact of the game. There are SO MANY environments to explore. None of the environments feel recycled, and the overall atmosphere achieved in the game is absolutely lovely.   So, if you’re looking for a visual odyssey that will take you on a SUPREME ADVENTURE through an entire world – this is your game. With some of the most beautifully crafted settings and creatures of the series, FFXII is probably one of the most gorgeous, understated masterpieces of the franchise.

As you can tell from our 2013 wrap up, it was a busy year here at CloudKid, and 2014 is shaping up to be one too! Don’t worry, though, we still find time to consume tons of different types of media when we’re not busy producing our own! Here’s what’s been inspiring us lately in this year’s first edition of “It’s What We’re Into”.

A Sitcom: The Goldbergs

Originally launching its pilot on Hulu, ABC’s new family comedy, The Goldbergs, has all the nostalgia and humor any child of the eighties needs to feel right at home. Narrated by Patton Oswalt, the series follows the eccentric Goldberg family as told through the eyes of their youngest child growing up in the early eighties. While the show is not groundbreaking, it has smart writing and an amazing cast, including Jeff Garlin (for those Curb Enthusiasts) and Wendi McLendon-Covey (of Reno 911 and Bridesmaids fame) as the family’s dysfunctional parents. Filled with constant nods to the many iconic toys and movies from one of the flashiest decades, The Goldbergs is definitely a show to check out if you want to laugh and reminisce about DeLoreans, mom jeans, and VHS tapes.

An App: Yummly

As self proclaimed foodies and tech geeks, we’re always looking for the best tools and apps to help us in our culinary adventures, and we found just that with Yummly. Billing itself as the “ultimate kitchen tool”, the Yummly app is a beautiful, streamlined interface that provides an aggregate of recipes from around the web. Yummly allows users to search for recipes by ingredient, diet, allergy, nutrition, price, cuisine, time, taste, meal courses and sources. Over time, as users save “Yums” (favorite recipes) the app learns preferences and uses this information to make recommendations. Users can also choose which ingredients from each recipe they want to add to an in-app shopping list, making sure there’s no excuse not to get cooking! This app is as beautiful as it is functional, and we’re excited to keep cooking (and eating!) with it.

A Game: Duet

Duet is one of those games that you sit down to play for a minute, keep telling yourself “just one more try,” and then look up and the sun has gone down. You maneuver two connected orbs through a vertically scrolling maze of walls that move, spin, and even start to disappear as you progress to harder levels. The design is stripped down and simple, the gameplay hypnotic, with tight controls and difficulty that fires neurons we haven’t used since Super Hexagon. Not to mention the gorgeous electronic soundtrack by Tim Shiel (AKA Faux Pas), which stands on its own as an album and won’t even arouse suspicion that you’re listening to a video game soundtrack.

A Short: The Expedition

CloudKid’s very own Louie Zong was featured on Cold Hard Flash last week for his short, The Expedition. Louie is an insanely talented artist, musician and animator, and The Expedition features all of these talents in one bite-sized nugget of a short. Did we mention he did EVERYTHING himself in only a week? Don’t worry, he makes us feel like slackers sometimes, too!

We’re sensing some similarities in what we’re all digging this month, centered around a trend that we are not only seeing a lot of here at CloudKid but also hearing a lot about in the media: digital content. As more and more digital content becomes available through providers like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu, it is becoming commonplace to watch old and new favorites online. It seems that Cartoon Network isn’t thrilled with the amount of viewers they have been losing due to digital alternatives, but everyone here is quite happy watching the library of properties available on a moment’s notice. Here’s what those of us here at the ol’ CK HQ have been watching online lately. Enjoy!

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Last month, we brought you a couple reviews from some of the crew here at CloudKid HQ in a new post we are calling “It’s what we’re into.” Well, it’s about that time again, so check out the write-ups below to get an idea of what type of media we’re digging in the month of June!

A Youtube Channel!: The Piano Guys

We’ve gotten really into The Piano Guys, a group of rising YouTube stars who make beautiful music videos. Starring a cellist and a pianist, they put their own spin on pop favorites as well as classical pieces, often combining new and old styles in creative ways. We love how the instruments themselves are used creatively as well; many of the percussion sounds are made using cellos! But the stellar music is only half the picture: every Piano Guys piece is released with its own video. They take pianos to extraordinary locations, like the cliffs of the Grand Canyon, and create lovely imagery that combines with the music to make for a breathtaking experience. We’re hooked!

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As artists, creators and producers, we love any and all types of media that come our way. From video games and books to movies and web series, it’s often from this very media that we draw our inspiration. So in a small shout-out to the things we love, we thought it would be cool to give you a glimpse of some of the media that the folks here at CloudKid are really digg’n in the month of April.  We’ll be posting more updates like this in the coming months in a feature we’re calling “It’s what we’re into”.

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