We have a fresh batch of special developer interviews coming to you on Channel 44, our special video podcast series where we speak with other developers we love about The Ur-Quan Masters, games, our histories, and our processes. If you haven’t been following Channel 44 on our YouTube, now is the time to jump in! Our episodes release each week at 10am PT on Tuesdays, on the schedule listed below. As before, Patreon supporters will get access to all of them immediately. They will also be available in audio form on the Pistol Shrimp Podcast!
Here’s the schedule for this batch:
April 23rd: Charlie Cleveland from Unknown Worlds (Subnautica, Natural Selection, Moonbreaker) *originally streamed live
April 30th: Freehold Games‘ Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat (Caves of Qud, Sproggiwood) *originally streamed live
May 7th: Massive Damage‘s Peter McLaren and Gary Seto (Halcyon 6, Star Renegades)
May 14th: Mark Yohalem from Wormwood Studios (Primordia, Strangeland, Fallen Gods)
If you missed any of our previous guests, check out the full playlist on YouTube! This will likely be the last of these releases for a while, but we look forward to doing more in the future.
Back in my day we were lucky to catch our favorite shows on HyperWave channel 44! These days when we just want you to pour our thoughts directly into your grey matter — definitely not mind-controlling you in the process — we need additional tactics. By popular demand, our Pistol Shrimp Podcast (previously just hosted directly on Patreon) is now syndicated across the internet universe.
New episodes (apart from the anniversary specials which we were too excited to share) will still be available early to Patreon supporters, but you should now be able to listen wherever you are:
For our 30th Anniversary Celebration, we have an additional, special episode of the Pistol Shrimp podcast with UQM illustrator George Barr available to listen to on Patreon. George was responsible for many of the iconic, physical illustrations which would then become digitized for use in UQM. Beyond UQM, George contributed artwork to science fiction and fantasy works from books, to magazines, to Dungeons and Dragons rule books.
This interview was originally conducted when Paul and Fred visited George’s residence to acquire some of his original works. George talks about his beginnings in art, what it was like to be in Los Angeles on the set of Star Trek, and his techniques for working with physical mediums. It contains several sections where George, Paul, and Fred are rifling through sheafs of artwork which, unfortunately, are not able to be appreciated entirely in an audio recording. A transcript is also available below.
However, this interview is also special for another reason. In Paul’s own words:
“George Barr was instrumental in creating the fantasy world and adventure of The Ur-Quan Masters. We very much want him involved in this new game. Unfortunately, he’s suffered vision loss and is unable to create new artwork. We decided to come up with a different plan. We went through some of his original artwork that he was able to sell and license, and by god we are going to find a way to use it because George is awesome.”
Paul Reiche on George Barr, November 2022
Some of this artwork was, indeed, created for other purposes without UQM2 in mind. We wanted George to be a part of UQM2 just as much as we wanted him to be a part of UQM, and we’re excited to show you some of his involvement. Spoiler Alert: These images are going to be part of UQM2. Also Spoiler Alert: We may or may not have no idea how or why just yet. Maybe you can tell us!
We hope you enjoy this conversation with a key member of the original UQM team and a first look at some of the new pieces that have been created for UQM2 (even if no one knew it at the time).
Last but not least, some of the original UQM pieces seen here are being provided for the first time in the form of high-resolution scans. They contain many pixels and can be downloaded in a very large zip file here.
UQM Original Paintings
The UmgahThe OrzThe DruugeThe SyreenThe ArilouThe Arilou – Monochrome StudyA new settlementA new settlement – Monochrome StudyDiscovering the UnzervaultThe Captain and their legacyMark II – Monochrome StudyThe Chmmr – Monochrome StudyThe Mycon Deep Child – Monochrome Study
For our 30th Anniversary Celebration, we have a special episode of the Pistol Shrimp podcast with none other than Erol Otus, now available on Patreon. Erol was responsible for several creative parts of The Ur-Quan Masters – art, sound, writing, and voice – but was primarily responsible for creating physical and digital paintings of the various aliens’ communications screens. Beyond UQM, Erol has contributed art, design, and boundless creativity to products and games ranging from Dungeons and Dragons to Skylanders.
Originally recorded for the 25th anniversary, Paul sits down with Erol to discuss what it was like to work on art in the time of UQM, D&D, their experiences with games in Berkeley, California, and even limericks. A transcript is also available below.
Erol has generously provided some of his artwork from outside of UQM to share, as well.
Keak
Cover for Goodman Game’s Dying Earth role playing game. Part of the core rule books, this one is sort of their monster manual. It depicts a Keak, mesmerizing and ingesting.
Taloonan
The cover for a module Erol created based on a D&D campaign he was running. It wasn’t full on published, a limited release was created by the North Texas RPG convention. It shows the Demigod Taloonan swimming along below the Shanga, a vessel crewed by the adventurers.
Dwellers of the Forbidden City
An AD&D module cover, “Dwellers of the Forbidden City”
Two weeks ago, we released episode 2 of the Pistol Shrimp podcast, entitled War & Space, early for our Patreon supporters. It features Paul Reiche and Lee Hutchinson discussing the influence of war, the possibility of war in space, and our childhood science museums on UQM. That episode is now available for everyone! Per your request, we are also looking into syndicating the podcast for consumption on your favorite (or least favorite – don’t let us tell you what to do) platform.
As always, please let us know if you have any feedback by joining our Discord or commenting on Patreon.
Two weeks early for our Patreon supporters, we have Paul Reiche and Lee Hutchinson returning for another episode of our podcast about the creation of UQM, UQM2, and the many steps taken to get here.
The main topic for this discussion is all about how war & space (and war in space) influenced our personal upbringings and the history of gaming through our lenses, which in turn influenced us. Why is Paul so obsessed with space combat? What did we learn from science museums, the threat of nuclear warfare, and pressing buttons in front of screens?
