Pixelated Audio is back from another VGMCon in Minnesota, this time about space! Joining Gene once again from last year are Pernell from Rhythm and Pixels and Carlos from Heroes Three!

We did a similar panel last year; we take a broad theme and make it educational, and then use it as an excuse to cram in all sorts of VGM examples. We had some tech issues and lost some of the recording but we were able to rescue it with a more laid back "part 2" we recorded in the hotel room as a way to fill in gaps and riff for a while. Prepare for launch on this massive double episode clocking in at almost 2 hours!

We discuss space, its influence on games and computing, and a wide range of games that have a direct or sometimes tenuous link to space. We've got a ton of music this episode so we hope you enjoy it. Pardon the noise in the background, it was the best we could do with a portable recorder.

If you'd like to follow along with our slides that we used during the talk, feel free to click through. If the presentation doesn't show up below, click here.

Track list

0:00:00 (Bedding) Map Screen - Mass Effect (Various, 2007) - Sam Hulick
0:06:15 (Excerpt) introduction to "From Here to Infinity" narrated by Patrick Stewart
0:09:42 Intro Cutscene - Frontier: Elite II (Amiga, 1993) - David Lowe
0:27:18 Hyperspace - Star Control II (PC, 1992) - Riku Nuottajärvi
0:31:57 Alpine Start - Star Trek: New Worlds (PC, 2000) - Jeremy Soule, Inon Zur
0:35:19 Main Theme - Space Engineers (PC, 2019) - Karel Antonín
0:41:11 Happy Daymare - Xexex (Arcade, 1991) - Konami Kukeiha Club

Motoaki Furukawa (Carol Queen)
Hidenori Maezawa (Michael Oldriver)
Satoko Miyawaki (Rosetta Stone)
Akiko Hashimoto (Shanghai Manmos)

0:45:13 Space Port -Juggernaut- - X-Men: Children of the Atom (Arcade, 1994)

Takayuki Iwai (ANACHEY··TAKAPON··) [main composer on track]
Shun Nishigaki (SYUN Nishigaki)
Hideki Okugawa (HIDEKI OK)
Isao Abe (Isao ··oyaji··Ave)

0:47:44 Hydra (Stage 1) - Gradius IV (Arcade, 1999) - Konami Kukeiha Club

Atsuki Watanabe (Atsuki)
Harumi Ueko

0:52:09 Pretty G - GuitarFreaks / DrumMania (Arcade, 2000) - Zonlu (Sunday Records)
0:57:17 Space - Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie (SFC, 1993) - Noboru Yamane
1:04:48 I Want to See the Starlight (Jolyne Kujo's Theme) - JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle (PS3, 2013) - Chikayo Fukuda
1:11:50 UFO Ending - Silent Hill (PS1, 1999) - Akira Yamaoka
1:18:06 (Bedding) World 2 (Moon) - Treasure Master (NES, 1991) - Tim Follin
1:20:00 (Bedding) Team Selection - Blades of Steel (NES, 1988)

Shinya Sakamoto (S. Sakamoto)
Kazuki Muraoka (K. Muraoka)
Atsushi Fujio (A. Fujio)
Kiyohiro Sada (K. Sada)

1:21:30 (Bedding) Item Acquisition - Super Metroid (SNES, 1994) - Kenji Yamamoto
1:21:42 (Bedding) Welcome to Chessmaster - The Chessmaster (SNES, 1991) - Peter Stone
1:22:24 (Bedding) Item Acquisition - Metroid Fusion (GBA, 2002) - Minako Hamano, Akira Fujiwara
1:22:41 (Bedding) Title Theme - Sorry! / Aggravation / Scrabble Junior (GBA, 2005) - Mark Cooksey (possibly)
1:23:46 (Bedding) Course Clear (Out of This Dimension) - Star Fox (SNES, 1993) - Hajime Hirasawa
1:24:11 (Bedding) Title Theme - PGA Tour Golf (SNES, 1992) - Rob Hubbard
1:24:50 Title Theme - PGA Tour Golf (Genesis, 1991) - Rob Hubbard
1:28:53 (Bedding) Deep Core - Phalanx (SNES, 1991) - S. Yamaguchi
1:29:32 (Bedding) Dr. Wright - SimCity (SNES, 1991) - Soyo Oka
1:34:12 (Bedding) Title Theme - Space Shuttle Project (NES, 1991) - Scott Marshall
1:34:39 (Bedding) Round 1 – Remlia Castle - Astyanax (NES, 1989) - Toshiko Tasaki
1:37:18 (Excerpt) pre-launch voice clips - Space Shuttle Project (NES, 1991) - voiced by David Crane
1:45:29 Ball Launch + Main Play 2 - Star Trek 25th Anniversary (Pinball, 1991) - Brian Schmidt
1:47:52 The Moon - Ducktales Remastered (Various, 2013) - Jake Kaufman, originally by Hiroshige Tonomura
1:53:59 Victory (Ending Medley) - Space Quest III: Pirates of Pestulon (PC, 1989) - Bob Siebenberg

Additional things mentioned during the talk

Rhythm and Pixels VGM podcast with Pernell
Heroes Three Asian cinema podcast with Carlos

The Bruce Lees of Fighting Games - VGMCON Panel 2025

The Game Brass - Thomas Kresge
From Here to Infinity: The Ultimate Voyage (1995) documentary narrated by Patrick Stewart
Moffett Field / NASA Ames SpaceBar
Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center
Mars Cheese Castle in Kenosha, WI
Arcades mentioned:

Galloping Ghost in Brookfield, IL
Timeline Arcade in York, PA
The Break (aka 8 on the Break) in Dunellen, NJ
GiGO (formerly Sega arcade) in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan
Blue Ghost Arcade in Woodstock, GA

Wild Weasel’s Golf Shrine
Astronaut ice cream
Dippin' Dots
Moon Mice aka Armadillos

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