Cracking pod, Gromit! At long last – GAMER ERA RETURNS – in fighting form for a new year, a new season and no less of a series of deep pulls. From the earnest efforts of venerable stop-mo studio Aardman to Interplay’s anarchic smackdown through the notorious ClayFighter series, it’s a great smouldering vat of putty potential. So go on! Get your hands riiiight in there. Get ‘em all nasty.

Find us at: http://gamertime.online

Bluesky: @gamertime.online

Backloggd: @GamerEraPodcast

Topics discussed: Aardman Animations, Wallace & Gromit Games (Grand Adventures, Project Zoo, Grand Getaway), Chicken Run, Flushed Away; Clayfighter (inc. Tournament Edition, C2: Judgment Clay, 63⅓, Sculptors’ Cut, Call of Putty), Claymates

Also mentioned: Crash Bandicoot, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Rayman 2, Tetrachroma, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Antonblast; Dreamworks, Shaun the Sheep, Blitz Games; Interplay, Visual Concepts, Battle Chess, Harley’s Humongous Adventure, Spot: The Cool Adventure / M.C. Kids, the 3DO, the Panasonic M2

Music used:

Menu Music 3 (“Okay Fellas”) [from “International Superstar Soccer 2000”] - Kazuhiko Uehara
The Hammer & The Mace ...in Slowroast Sewer [from “Antonblast”] - Tony Grayson
Train Chase [from “Wallace & Gromit - The Wrong Trousers”] - Julian Nott (synth cover by S.A. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do7A_eGQTV4)
Main Theme [from “Chicken Run (GBC)”] - Allister Brimble
Big Hunk O' Burnin' Clay [from “Clayfighter”] - Brian Luzetti, Euphony
World Map; Clayton’s Backyard; Bonus Stage [from “Claymates”] - Brian Luzetti, Charles Deenan
Clayfighter Theme - Brian Luzetti, Euphony

Further reading:

“ClayFighter 3 Interview” - IGN (author unknown, 1996): https://web.archive.org/web/20140222130406/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/10/26/clayfighter-3-interview
“CLAYFIGHTER's Stop Motion Gaming De-Evolution” (RebelTaxi, 2020) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElChcXGQ7w0
“A Hundred Pounds of Clay” - Electronic Games #6, pg. 36-38 (Russ Ceccola, 1993) - https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1993-03/page/n35/mode/2up