Media Consumption: The Longest Journey's Ragnar Tørnquist

Today’s Media Consumption, a weekly column that digs deep to find out what our favorite game developers have been devouring in the four basic media food groups of audio, video, printed word and games, speaks to Funcom Creative Director and The Longest Journey creator Ragnar Tørnquist. Tørnquist acted as Producer, Lead Designer, Writer, and even Voice Director for Funcom's 1999 adventure, The Longest Journey. He also designed and produced Casper for the Sony PlayStation, and was responsible for the story in Anarchy Online. Currently, Tørnquist is finishing up Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, the long-awaited sequel to his award-winning creation, and doing preliminary work for a new online game. Sounds: "I spend a lot of time in front of the computer when I'm at home, and it's almost too easy to pop into iTunes to pick up a new album," Tørnquist told Gamasutra, via email. "Consequently, I buy a lot of music." Among these purchases is "Analogue," the reunion album by Norwegian pop trio a-ha (most remembered for the '80s standby, "Take On Me"). "Yes, they're still around, and they're great," said Tørnquist. Other purchases include the film score for The Constant Gardener by composer Alberto Iglesias ("Perfect writing music," said Tørnquist), The Birds' "The Insides," Maria Rita's "Segundo," and "a selection of Mozart's violin sonatas." Tørnquist also provided us with a list of his favorite artists, which include Tori Amos, Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Damien Rice, Phoenix, and The Streets. "To mention a few," he said. Moving Pictures: "With the long days at the office and the working weekends, I currently don't have time to watch anything longer than 42 minutes," said Tørnquist. "This fall, I'm enjoying Lost (of course), Surface, Invasion, Rome, Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica, and the American version of The Office - probably the funniest thing on TV right now." Words: "I have a stack of books three feet tall next to my bed, but I usually fall asleep before I can finish a single page," said Tørnquist, "so here's what I'm looking forward to reading when I get the chance, in chronological order: 'Judas Unleashed', the follow-up to Peter Hamilton's hugely entertaining and exciting space opera 'Pandora's Star'; John Irving's latest, 'Until I Find You'; and 'A Feast for Crows', the fourth novel in George R. R. Martin's superior fantasy cycle, and 'A Song of Fire and Ice'." Tørnquist said he's also looking forward to catching up with the Harry Potter series over Christmas. "I get most of my gaming, sci-fi, fantasy, TV, and movie news online," he continued, "but when it comes to covering the video game industry, Edge is the magazine to beat, and I pick it up every month." Games: "For all those plane rides, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories on the PSP has proven to be a real blessing," he said. "Aside from that, the only game I have time to play these days is Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. But I'm planning on picking up We Love Katamari and Shadow of the Colossus as soon as possible."