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Irashtar
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icon This Pointless Thing Called Life (+1)  
http://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games_2/SS.html
has a link to http://www.this-pointless-thing-called-life.com/
Which is gone.
From what I can find, this formerly purchaseable audiobook would be an awesome thing to listen to, does anyone have any information on it, or even better, willing to share this abandonware of the ears?
10-06-2008 at 04:58 PM
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slimm tom
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I have part 2 of it on my awesome DDDD SmS CD. Don't have the first part though, it was on Journey's End, which I only own as a downloadable.
10-06-2008 at 07:35 PM
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Irashtar
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Sigh, I really wish the CDs weren't oneoff printings. :(
10-07-2008 at 02:29 PM
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The spitemaster
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I'm betting that if you can generate enough interest in one or more of the older CD's you could get another printing. I'm thinking that you would need 20-25+ to make it profitable for a printing.

But in any case this is really just a guess.

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10-07-2008 at 07:21 PM
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Lamkin
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The spitemaster wrote:
I'm betting that if you can generate enough interest in one or more of the older CD's you could get another printing.

Unfortunately, taking into consideration the fact that not only is the web site defunct (as you'd mentioned), but so too are both the e-mail address and (apparently) the only online catalog that had sold the audiobook, so you might run into a slight problem with regards to the goal of generating interest in reprinting the CD. :(
(A quick search on eBay turned up nothing, either.)

[Last edited by Lamkin at 10-07-2008 08:10 PM]
10-07-2008 at 08:09 PM
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Beef Row
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Lamkin wrote:
The spitemaster wrote:
I'm betting that if you can generate enough interest in one or more of the older CD's you could get another printing.

Unfortunately, taking into consideration the fact that not only is the web site defunct (as you'd mentioned), but so too are both the e-mail address and (apparently) the only online catalog that had sold the audiobook, so you might run into a slight problem with regards to the goal of generating interest in reprinting the CD. :(
(A quick search on eBay turned up nothing, either.)

Parts of this audiobook were included as bonuses on some of the DROD smitemaster's selection CDs. Those are the CDs being referred to and quite clearly THAT site is not defunct. Or we're deep in a shared hallucination, one or the other. However, if the contacts for this audiobook have vanished off the face of the earth, getting permission to use this in a reissue might STILL be tough.

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10-08-2008 at 08:16 PM
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Lamkin
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Beef Row wrote:
Parts of this audiobook were included as bonuses on some of the DROD smitemaster's selection CDs. Those are the CDs being referred to and quite clearly THAT site is not defunct. Or we're deep in a shared hallucination, one or the other. However, if the contacts for this audiobook have vanished off the face of the earth, getting permission to use this in a reissue might STILL be tough.

I apologize if I'd misunderstood that The spitemaster was referring to a particular DROD CD, but then his post is moot simply because it was rather obvious that Irashtar wishes to obtain only the original audiobook compact discs by Posthuman Enterprises.
Irashtar wrote:
Sigh, I really wish the CDs weren't oneoff printings. :(

This makes sense to me because I'd have a similar reaction if someone were to inform me that they'd be more than willing to make a photocopy of a book (or even a copy of a CD) I'd desperately wanted which was both out of print and extremely difficult to find secondhand; it is always preferable to own the original work, packaging, etc., itself.

[Last edited by Lamkin at 10-09-2008 02:08 AM]
10-08-2008 at 08:47 PM
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ErikH2000
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You know, this is maybe the first time anybody showed a real interest in the audio dramas we put on the discs. I'm glad there are some fans of it out there. I quite enjoyed TPTCL, and it's a sad idea that it would become unavailable in the future.

I do know that the licensing agreement I made with Posthuman Productions allows for Caravel to release the audio content online for CaravelNet members. We don't have licensing to reprint the earlier episode on a new disc, though. Unless it was a reprint of the same Smitemaster's Selection. Anyhow, I'm guessing that's impractical. Downloadable makes more sense.

So maybe someone can convince Mike to put episodes up on CaravelNet private download area.

-Erik

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10-08-2008 at 09:02 PM
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Lamkin
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ErikH2000 wrote:
So maybe someone can convince Mike to put episodes up on CaravelNet private download area.

-Erik

I, for one, would love to see that happen. :)
10-08-2008 at 09:06 PM
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Irashtar
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I would too! That's beyond awesome! As for would be unavailable in the future, they're currently unavailable in the present! :P
As for The CD's, I was referring to the SmS discs. Kinda galls me that I can't get the past goodies, or even find out what they were. :?

[Last edited by Irashtar at 10-09-2008 11:10 AM]
10-09-2008 at 11:04 AM
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Lamkin
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Irashtar wrote:
As for The CD's, I was referring to the SmS discs.


:blush Oh well, that's what I get for making a stupid assumption. (I've got to stop doing that! I'll be quiet now, as I seem to get in trouble for merely trying to help out. I'll make an attempt to clarify things next time.) :?

[Last edited by Lamkin at 10-09-2008 08:04 PM]
10-09-2008 at 04:39 PM
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mrimer
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ErikH2000 wrote:
I do know that the licensing agreement I made with Posthuman Productions allows for Caravel to release the audio content online for CaravelNet members. We don't have licensing to reprint the earlier episode on a new disc, though. Unless it was a reprint of the same Smitemaster's Selection. Anyhow, I'm guessing that's impractical. Downloadable makes more sense.

So maybe someone can convince Mike to put episodes up on CaravelNet private download area.
Great idea! I've put up the four chapters of TPTCL on the private section of the Downloads page for CaravelNet members.

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10-18-2008 at 05:13 PM
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Briareos
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mrimer wrote:
Great idea! I've put up the four chapters of TPTCL on the private section of the Downloads page for CaravelNet members.
Could you perhaps give a few short hints at what this novel is about?

I'd rather not download it only to find out it's not my cup of tea - and it would save you bandwidth to boot... :)

np: The Matthew Herbert Big Band - One Life (There's Me And There's You)

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[Last edited by Briareos at 10-18-2008 06:00 PM]
10-18-2008 at 06:00 PM
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NiroZ
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You beauty!
Considering I like to work with a podcast/audiobook in the background, any recommendations on what some good audiobooks (other than these) are? (I presume nobody minds me asking)
10-18-2008 at 06:19 PM
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ErikH2000
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Briareos wrote:
Could you perhaps give a few short hints at what this novel is about?
See the Illumination titled "Why Beethro is not British".

-Erik

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10-18-2008 at 06:25 PM
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Irashtar
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Just when I thought I couldn't love you guys more, you do the awesome. :thumbsup
Now I have to figure how to get the sequel they made, which seems to be trickier indeed. -_-
Maybe you have contact info that still works for Alan Marshall? The only ones Wikipedia knows about died decades ago, and since it seems to be out of print everywhere, he might be willing to release it into creative commons or the like, or just let us CN members have a few more hours of laughter. :lol
10-18-2008 at 09:37 PM
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Lamkin
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Excellent. :) Thank you, drmrimer.
10-18-2008 at 09:38 PM
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mrimer
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An e-mail we received from one of the producers of TPTCL:
Hiya,

one fan was trying to get in touch with us, the producers of TPTCL audionovel. It;s hard to do given we are no longer marketing the audionovel...but a printed version will maybe be out sometime.

Till then, you can give any body who wants info about the productions here...

Much thanks,

Alan

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I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.
11-27-2008 at 05:48 PM
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Illusionist
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Any insight what was this audio-drama included?
And some general trivia.....

[Last edited by Illusionist at 09-21-2020 12:46 PM]
08-30-2020 at 07:17 PM
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Illusionist
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I re-listened to it - excellent.
Reminds me of the good sci-fi of the 80s
thoughtful and underrated
09-19-2020 at 06:56 PM
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ErikH2000
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Illusionist wrote:
I re-listened to it - excellent.
Reminds me of the good sci-fi of the 80s
thoughtful and underrated
Late reply, sorry...

Back in the 90s, there was a CD-ROM boom that doesn't get remembered fondly enough. We all got a bit excited about how much stuff could go onto a shiny CD. Some people clearly abused the format by dumping anything plausibly sellable on them. There were some terrible games like choose-your-own-adventure movies with pathetic video. But we also got some good stuff. Myst, for example. And collections of "zine" content that would just simply be handled with websites in the Broadband Age.

The latter, I was particularly enamored with. I'd buy certain print magazines and find CDs glued to the cover that contained digital bits that complemented the magazine. I figured we'd try our hand at being a similar curator. We were fairly hooked into the indie scene in those days, so Mike and I both knew other devs with demos. I also loved audio drama, and listened to hours of it every week. I still do like AD, though I'm not currently as avid. To me, AD was just a sister scene to indie game development, so I tried making deals to include programs I liked on our CaravelNet discs.

Scifi audio-drama is an interesting genre. On a three digit budget and with the right people involved, it can sound as good as a movie. This Pointless Thing Called Life was like that. It had that polish and an interesting humorous story that reminded me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. So I was happy to convince Alan to let us carry the program on our CaravelNet discs.

Anyhow, long-winded memories. I better stop for now.

-Erik

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10-29-2020 at 09:31 PM
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mrimer
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I love hearing the memories!

Good times. I'm feeling really nostalgic. :)

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Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.
10-29-2020 at 09:52 PM
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Illusionist
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ErikH2000 wrote:
Illusionist wrote:
I re-listened to it - excellent.t
Reminds me of the good sci-fi of the 80s
thoughtful and underrated
Late reply, sorry...

Back in the 90s, there was a CD-ROM boom that doesn't get remembered fondly enough. We all got a bit excited about how much stuff could go onto a shiny CD. Some people clearly abused the format by dumping anything plausibly sellable on them. There were some terrible games like choose-your-own-adventure movies with pathetic video. But we also got some good stuff. Myst, for example. And collections of "zine" content that would just simply be handled with websites in the Broadband Age.

The latter, I was particularly enamored with. I'd buy certain print magazines and find CDs glued to the cover that contained digital bits that complemented the magazine. I figured we'd try our hand at being a similar curator. We were fairly hooked into the indie scene in those days, so Mike and I both knew other devs with demos. I also loved audio drama, and listened to hours of it every week. I still do like AD, though I'm not currently as avid. To me, AD was just a sister scene to indie game development, so I tried making deals to include programs I liked on our CaravelNet discs.

Scifi audio-drama is an interesting genre. On a three digit budget and with the right people involved, it can sound as good as a movie. This Pointless Thing Called Life was like that. It had that polish and an interesting humorous story that reminded me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. So I was happy to convince Alan to let us carry the program on our CaravelNet discs.

Anyhow, long-winded memories. I better stop for now.

-Erik

Thank you, I've listened to the story, and it reminded me of the best sci-fi stories I was reading as a kid, it is indeed a relic of the past. Not much stuff like that is happening anymore and it's a serious shame, because this story was very thought-provoking, but then again, most of the sci-fi stories are very thought-provoking in regards to the humanist questions and problems.

Thank you for answering my question. If anyone can listen to the story, but didn't do it now, halloween is the right time. I love how one of the characters in the story questions the motives of the experts, and scientists. Money indeed rules the world, and more importantly, the ethics

I loved the 90s boom, because when I bought Jazz JAckrabbit, I also got demos for other games for free. Good times.

You shouldn't had stopped, but I understand.

Sci-fi is extremely underrated as a genre, and it never receives the credit it deserves. People love X-Men, Aliens, and Matrix, but it all started as a sci-fi story and people refuse to acknowledge that. Some of the greatest entertainment and technology started as a sci-fi story. It all starts with imagination, and sci-fi genre provokes that. But most people dismiss sci-fi as being sci-fi. Well it's sci-fi, unless someone makes it real, and that's the point! Sci-fi was always treated as a literature for nerds, and to this day, I don't understand why.

Sad, but thank you for that collab. I googled more about the story, and it's really obscure, so I'm happy that I could listen to it in its entirety. I wish I had enough brain to encourage people enough to touch books, especially sci-fi. So many literature gems are being lost and nobody is willing to pick them up.... Eh

[Last edited by Illusionist at 11-01-2020 04:51 PM]
11-01-2020 at 04:41 PM
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ErikH2000
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Illusionist,

I think you are wrong about one thing... There is a TON of sci-fi audio drama being created now. Probably more than any other time because of cheap access to recording gear and software. There's a good website I'll dig up for you later.

If you can find archives of Seeing Ear Theater, that is an amazing trove.

-Erik

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11-13-2020 at 08:53 PM
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ErikH2000
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I do see my favorite audio drama forum website seems to have gone away. But basically, you want to keep Googling for "audio drama", "scifi audio drama". Audio drama as a search term tends to pick up on newer productions, excluding old-time-radio productions which I always feel is like a different genre, though full of treats - Escape, Dimension X.

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/audiodramaradiodramalovers (moderated by Jack Ward. My troupe got a few Machine Court shows on his radio program.)

Anyhow, good luck. It's out there. Hours and hours of good stuff, mixed in with hours and hours of mediocrity.

-Erik

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11-13-2020 at 09:00 PM
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Illusionist
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ErikH2000 wrote:
I do see my favorite audio drama forum website seems to have gone away. But basically, you want to keep Googling for "audio drama", "scifi audio drama". Audio drama as a search term tends to pick up on newer productions, excluding old-time-radio productions which I always feel is like a different genre, though full of treats - Escape, Dimension X.

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/audiodramaradiodramalovers (moderated by Jack Ward. My troupe got a few Machine Court shows on his radio program.)

Anyhow, good luck. It's out there. Hours and hours of good stuff, mixed in with hours and hours of mediocrity.

-Erik

Personally, I avoid social media, and places like reddit, but I get the point.

After your previous post, I did google and was surprised to learn that a certain very popular comic book hero had his own two official audio drama series recently, which surprised me enormously, as I wasn't aware that there is a market for that. So yeah, I am out of a loop. It's kinda interesting, but I'm not complaining. I'm currently working at home, so any podcasts and audio dramas are a perfect fit.

I was neglecting sci-fi literature for the last 5 years out of laziness, but then again, you need to get in the mood to consume sci-fi.

[Last edited by Illusionist at 11-14-2020 09:06 PM]
11-14-2020 at 09:00 PM
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mrimer
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Illusionist wrote:
I was neglecting sci-fi literature for the last 5 years out of laziness, but then again, you need to get in the mood to consume sci-fi.
I'd highly recommend the "Bobiverse" audiobooks, starting with We are Legion (We are Bob). Narrator, story, sci-fi themes, and production quality are all great.

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Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.
11-15-2020 at 12:00 AM
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I second mrimer's Bobiverse recommend here. Was delightful listening. :)

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11-17-2020 at 01:45 PM
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