Our next Trading Card Spotlight features Paul E. Niemeyer, who currently is displayed on card number 4113, from the Superstars of 2022 Collection.  Paul’s career started back in 1982 at Bally/Midway. Paul displayed his artwork talent on dozens of games like Tapper, TRON, Spy Hunter and of course Mortal Kombat. Paul has worked with many movie studios as well like Jurassic Park II, Star Trek 5, and Star Wars: Phantom Menace. In 2006. Paul also opened a top 10 rated haunted house in Chicago. A pure artistic talent, you can catch Paul at most retro video game conferences as he has book over 20 of them in 2022. Do you remember when you played your first arcade game and what do you remember about the experience? I think it was probably the vector imaged Battlezone… I think there might have been a machine in one of the bars at college and we were fascinated by it! We were crazy pinball geeks, but THIS… what electronic wonder be this?!? And, to look back on that particular game and see that the actual viewing screen was tiny for that huge cabinet is too funny! But it was the newest, coolest thing, and we wanted more. What are your opinions about today’s generation of video games? How do you compare them to older,classic games? Well, the difference is always going to be night and day, if only for the technology quantum leap that occurred during that time. But I certainly feel that those old classic games had a charm and “look” that can still be seen in games designed for handheld devices. I worked on Peggle and Bejeweled 2 for PopCap and those graphics were just barely more articulated than the systems we were using in the early 80s. The games and gameplay have held up over the decades as I think is evident in the popularity of the new arcades.  Did you ever think when you were younger you would be on a video game trading card? I had certainly hoped so… I had made up my mind to be A famous artist when I was quite young, preferably working on games that I loved so much. I’ve often said at seminars and panels that I am very happy to think that my 16-year-old self would be very impressed with where I landed, and that’s always been my litmus paper for how I was doing. Have you ever received any media coverage for your appearance on the trading card? If so, where? I am relatively new to being recognized for my endeavors in the gaming universe, so it is all quite new and thrilling to me. My first media coverage was actually at Free Play Florida in November of 2021 when I was given my first card! Poor Walter was ill and couldn’t make the show but was “there” via the magic of the internet and a really large screen! Oddly enough, I seem to have always been in the wrong place at the wrong time to actually meet Walter but had text and talk to him on a number of occasions. We finally got to meet at a show just recently in person which was just a fantastic experience for me! I am flattered and honored that there are people like Walter who are there to preserve something that is iconic and is an integral part of the pop culture. It is like he has become the steward of the genre, and that is something that I am very impressed with. Besides Mortal Kombat, what are other games do you do artwork for? My game art career began at Bally/Midway in 1982, working for pinball legend, Paul Farris. Indid art on “Tapper”, “PacMan Plus”, “Super PacMan”, “Professor PacMan”, “TRON”, “Satan’s Hollow”, “Spy Hunter”, “WACKO”, and “Midnight Marauders”, as well as dozens of prototype games. In 1984, I went freelance and worked on games like “Time Killers”, “Aeroboto”, “Star Guards”, an endless list of prototype games, and the huge success, the Original “Mortal Kombat”. I had simultaneous careers as a designer/illustrator in the Chicago ad agencies, a nature artist for the DNR, and a game art designer/illustrator for the video/pinball game community. I worked on “Demolition Man” Pinball as a graphic designer. In 2000, I helped start Eagle Games, where I was a partner, the creative director, and designed & illustrated art for the games. Eagle Games made big, beautiful box games for the serious wargamer. Eagle headlined games like The American Civil War, Napoleon in Europe, Age of Imperialism, along with a WWII game and it’s expansion, “ATTACK!”. Eagle also produced many board game versions of popular video games like Railroad Tycoon, Age of Steam, Age of Mythology, and Syd Meier’s: Civilization, as well as producing board games for other game companies. Eagle Games was sold to Gryphon Games and became Eagle-Gryphon games in 2005. I designed and illustrated many games as an independent freelancer for Pegasus Games, Mr. Bee Games, UberPlay Games, Esdevium Games, CBG Games, and did the packaging design & illustration for PopCap’s “Peggle” and “Bejeweled 2”. In 2021, my sculptures finally appeared in my first published pinball game, American Pinball’s “Legends of Valhalla”. After 41 years, I finally got a pinball game to my credit!! How did you get the job of being the artist for the Mortal Kombat franchise? Greg Freres, who had been my boss from 82 to 84 at Bally/Midway. He called me up and asked me to come down and work on a new fighting game that they were developing at Williams (Midway) called Dragon Attack, to be re-named Mortal Kombat at my very first meeting. Do you have a favorite character in Mortal Kombat and why? I would say that I like Lord Raiden, probably because of his portrayal by Christopher Lambert in the first movie. He is a mystic deity, still has a bit of the rogue about him! THAT definitely appeals to me! Do you prefer arcade or console gaming and why?  Arcade! I’m an old school guy!  What does it take to be a video game artist, and what advice would you give a person today who would like to get into the industry? I believe the answer to that is the answer to a more general question- what does it take to be a good artist? And I have found that there are three general rules… 1. Practice. 2. PRACTICE. 3. and MORE PRACTICE!!! As for any advice to someone who wants to get into the business of game design, I say to thee, kind and gentle soul, “good luck.” Unfortunately, it’s really the only poignant advice I have to give because the world that I created art for video games in is a far and distant memory. I have absolutely no clue what is going on out there beyond my happy little studio! And that is more by design than anything… If you could describe Walter Day in one word, what would that word be and why?  Gracious. Gracious encompasses so many other wonderful qualities that it is fitting for him. He is a wonderfully gracious man. Do you believe some video games are too violent and lead to violence in America? Now that is a quandary… One school of thought is that everybody gets all their crazy Yaya‘s out on the gameplay and it is generally a more healthy thing. The other school of thought is that we have all seen far too many murders, shootings, stabbings, and general mayhem to have it even ruffle our feathers anymore. We have become jaded to seeing extreme gore, and that doesn’t seem right. I owned a very large professional haunted attraction for 10 years here in Chicago called ABYSS haunted house and I know for a fact that it is very difficult to scare today’s customer because they have been exposed to so much that it no longer has a fright factor. What do we do about this? I do not have any answers for you, but I do know that the games were far more of a release of negative energy into the gameplay rather than the gameplay initiating negative energy. Besides the games you did artwork for, which was your favorite game back in the 1990’s?  Castle Wolfenstein 3D ate up a ton of hours (I can still hear the theme playing in my head!!), a couple of super frustrating flight simulators, and a golf game I can’t remember the name of… What other careers did you do in the gaming industry besides artwork? I have designed, illustrated, made production art, fabricated, and sculpted for games, but never have NOT done something art related. I did write some copy on game cards for Eagle Games, but that is about it! Do you like it when Hollywood makes a movie from the video game? That’s up to Hollywood! Don’t eff it up!!! Who is your favorite video game character of all time and what makes that character special? That, I do not have an answer for… I never dwell on my own characters, so I definitely do not dwell on any other characters. I just try to take it all in… What are some stories about the original Mortal Kombat that most people may not know? Most people do not know that the dragon on the original game was facing left. When Mortal Kombat 2 came out it was facing right and has been facing right ever since. Reason unknown. Are you still involved with Mortal Kombat today, and what role do you play? Sadly, my time doing Mortal Kombat was confined to the first game, and I was unceremoniously shown the door the moment it was done. I believe there were some bad feelings amongst some that, I, a freelancer, had created the most valuable art asset the company ever had, and I did not work there, or ever had. Where do you see video gaming in the next 10 years? What makes you think I know anything about the previous 10 years?!? The gaming universe is in such a constant state of flux, I don’t pretend to keep up. I’m usually in a state of awe at every new development. The post Video Game Trading Card Spotlight – Paul E. Niemeyer appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

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A song with a tender pro-life message has reached the top 5 on iTunes’ chart for country music less than three weeks after its release.  Eighteen-year-old Rachel Holt sings “I Was Gonna Be” from the perspective of an aborted child.  The chorus of the song—“All I wanted was a chance/To learn to love and laugh and dance/But I was gone before I arrived/Sent back to heaven on a starlight flight”—is paired with photos of baby bottles, baby shoes, and toys that hauntingly disappear in the music video.  The song leapfrogged over Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies” and Luke Combs’ “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” on iTunes. Songwriter Chris Wallin—who has written hit songs for country music stars Trace Adkins, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, and others—said he wrote the song without thinking anyone would ever sing it. “I started writing this song for myself. I didn’t think anyone would have the courage to sing this,” Wallin told Breitbart News Daily in an interview on Sirius-XM’s Patriot conservative talk-show channel. Soon after they met and Holt heard Wallin’s song, she offered to sing it, he said. Wallin said he “wanted people to hear the voice of the voiceless,” writing the song because he “thought something had to be said.” When it came to finding a promotional sponsor for “I Was Gonna Be,” Wallin said that Baste Records, a Nashville, Tenn.-based label that describes itself as a “right-wing counterculture music company,” didn’t “leave one stone unturned when it came to calling up and talking to pro-life groups” to promote the song. When none of the pro-life groups would sponsor the song, the conservative Patriot Mobile wireless phone company stepped up, Wallin told Breitbart. Patriot Mobile CEO Glenn Story said in a news release that his company received a call about a pro-life song needing a promotional sponsor.  “It aligned perfectly with our beliefs about the sanctity of life,” said Story, whose company calls itself the “official song partner” of the record.  He also noted the song’s beauty, saying, “We need more conservative messaging in the arts as the music industry is a very important part of today’s culture war.”  Wallin, who doubles as the head of artists and repertoire for Baste Records, signed Holt to the Nashville label last year after discovering the Indiana native and her self-released debut album “Missin’ Home.”  “I Was Gonna Be” was released to streaming platforms, including Spotify and iHeartRadio, on June 21, just three days before the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.  The song continues to have a five-star rating in the iTunes Store. Baste Records posted on X last week that “I Was Gonna Be” reached No. 9 for Billboard’s “country digital sales,” No. 20 for “digital sales,” and No. 21 for “emerging artists.” ??? pic.twitter.com/bUUojV4QkQ— Baste Records (@basterecords) July 3, 2024 The post Pro-Life Song Propels Teen Up the iTunes Country Charts appeared first on The Daily Signal.

George Clooney, we have recently learned, has just discovered that President Joe Biden is in severe mental decline. Apparently, the television star does not own one himself. The man has access to a smartphone, assumedly, yet has never been on social media. No, the only way Clooney, a Democratic Party...

Caitlin Clark of the WNBA's Indiana Fever dropped a historic statline Wednesday in a game against the Washington Mystics. Most of it was good and might further solidify her claim to the league's Rookie of the Year honors -- although some of the historic stats weren't so hot and were...

Brewer Hicklen, an outfielder with the Nashville Sounds, baptized his teammate, Wes Clarke, on Saturday after hitting a two-run home run that secured his team's 4-1 win against the Memphis Redbirds. The incident unfolded shortly after the AAA minor-league game ended at First Horizon Park in Nashville, Tennessee. Hicklen and...

It's a good rule of politics that if they're laughing at you, you're losing. And that's exactly where President Joe Biden's re-election campaign found itself on Wednesday over its response to liberal actor George Clooney's call for Biden to drop out of the race. The fact that it was commentators...

Marla Maples, ex-wife of President Trump, said she’s willing to help with his campaign in an interview with the Evening Standard. Maples, who shares daughter Tiffany Trump with Donald Trump, said “I am available if needed and I’m not sitting back anymore.” “I want to step out more, share more and not be afraid of positive or negative outcomes that come from speaking out,” she told the outlet. Trump and Maples married in 1993 and divorced in 1999. Maples even said she’s willing to serve as Trump’s running mate. The outlet asked her if it’s true that she’s ambitious enough to be vice president. “Someone would have to ask my ex-husband about that,” she responded. “I’m open. I’m open to whatever way that I can serve. Right now everyone [in the Trump family] is just seeing how we can help,” she added. Former President Donald Trump’s second ex-wife, Marla Maples, is open to taking a more active role in her former husband’s third recent bid for president. MORE : https://t.co/l7LvX912PM pic.twitter.com/8Pj6UxAElB — Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 10, 2024 Marla Maples, the ex-wife of former President Trump, says she’s “open” to being his vice presidential pick.https://t.co/9jPzcqG7ru — The Hill (@thehill) July 10, 2024 From the Evening Standard: Recent lawsuits against Trump have not swayed her faith either. Last year, a jury found him liable for sexual abuse of the writer E Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million following an incident in 1996 — when he was married to Maples. She doesn’t believe the claim. “I do know my daughter’s father well enough to know that he’s never had to push himself on another person. He’s always had women throw themselves on him instead,” she says. “I don’t believe there was a crime done.” As for the New York jury that found him guilty of 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, she can only chuckle. “They love these little sexy stories. We have a country that is failing. Our cities are not protected. How do we make people feel safe again? That’s more important than having these lawsuits that are not affecting any of us today.” Maples is more than happy to detail her concerns about the US and the world at large. She believes “the media” is hiding rising crime rates in US cities — in New York, specifically, by “gangs that had come up off the southern border” — and declares: “It’s time to wake up to a higher truth, and to not believe everything that is shown to us in the news.” Where does she go for her news? “Oh my god,” she smiles. “Conversations.” She remains furious about the Biden administration’s handling of the Covid pandemic; the current US president implemented a goal to hit 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days. 200 million were administered in 91 days. “I’m not a fan of forcing people to take an injection. They wouldn’t tell people what was in it. I think that’s horrific,” she says. “A lot of people are sick because of the Covid vaccine. Many people died that didn’t need to die.” She also claims the drugs ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were “things that worked” to treat infection, but “were pulled off the shelves in many states and many countries”. As for her own natural remedy for coronavirus? Delivered in complete seriousness, she offers: “Surround yourself with joyful people. Joy keeps you alive and happy for a long time.” Trump’s ex-wife Marla Maples stands by former president, ready to help his campaign https://t.co/d06hDKUyCb pic.twitter.com/PYZOkGv9kT — New York Post (@nypost) July 11, 2024 Marla Maples, ex-wife of Donald Trump, said she's ready, able and willing to help the former president return to the White House.MORE: https://t.co/SIwBoPutoW pic.twitter.com/olin6ktU1a — NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) July 9, 2024 Per USA TODAY: The pair married in 1993, shortly after the birth of their daughter Tiffany, and divorced in 1999. She said she has forgiven Trump for their past disagreements, citing the fact that marriages are challenging, “especially when you play them out in the media.” Maples previously revealed she cautioned Trump about launching a bid for the White House while they were married in the 1990s. “It’s something we thought about doing in the ’90s, but I knew it would be difficult on the kids, it takes a big toll on kids, and Donny, Ivanka and Eric (Trump’s three eldest children with his first wife) were much younger then,” Maples said in a 2018 appearance on NBC. Today, Trump views some of children and family members as close political confidants. During his administration, Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump worked as an adviser to her father and her husband Jared Kushner served as an assistant and senior adviser to the president. Both took no salary. This year, Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was appointed co-chair of the Republican National Committee and his son, Donald Trump Jr., has provided input on who should join him on the Republican ticket this November.