Broken Age

• Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

  Broken Age: Act 2 OST (Review)

  May 27, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Broken Age: Act 2 OST (Review) Share this Broken Age: Act 2 OST (Review)

  

  Last year Double Fine Productions released the first act of their Kickstarter backed title Broken Age. The soundtrack for Act 1 was written by long time Double Fine collaborator Peter McConnell and released on various digital platforms. With Broken Age finally complete, the official soundtrack now has music from the game’s second half added to it. The score features performances by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a set of smaller ensembles from the San Francisco area, and even performances by the composer himself.

  Since I reviewed the music of Act 1, when the album was released last year, there are only a handful of new tracks to discuss with the now complete Broken Age soundtrack. While I could talk about the earlier released material, it would only be a repeat of what I’ve already stated in my Broken Age: Act 1 OST Review. You can find my thoughts on the music of Act 1 there. Otherwise this will mostly be a review on the new material, how it fits in with the rest of the music, and how the full soundtrack works as a whole. As with the Act 1 review, there will be potential spoilers for the game plot, especially if you haven’t completed first half of the game. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the Broken Age OST.  (more…)

• Game Music, Indie Music

  Broken Age’s Complete Soundtrack is Out Now

  April 28, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Broken Age’s Complete Soundtrack is Out Now Share this Broken Age’s Complete Soundtrack is Out Now

  

  Coinciding with the release of the second act of Broken Age, Peter McConnell’s complete soundtrack to the Kickstarted Double Fine game is available today. You can purchase the digital version on several platforms, including Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp, and on Sumthing Else Music. A physical version of the soundtrack is set to be released later in June of this year.

  The complete Broken Age album includes the original set of tracks from act 1, released last year, and the additional music from the second act of the game. This brings the grand total of pieces on the soundtrack to 30. The album features performances by the Melbourne Symphony, the band Clarinet Thing, and The New Vocal String Quartet. If you’re a fan of McConnell’s work on Broken Age and enjoyed what he wrote for act 1, you’ll want to check out this complete version of the game’s score.

• Game Music, Music Production

  Take A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Broken Age’s Music and Audio

  April 14, 2015 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Take A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Broken Age’s Music and Audio Share this Take A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Broken Age’s Music and Audio

  

  As part of the backer updates on the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter project, the game’s development process has been documented in a video series by 2 Player Productions. The multi-part documentary includes interviews with the staff, at various points of Broken Age‘s development cycle, and behind-the-scenes footage of the creation process. A select number of episodes feature content about the game audio side of Broken Age‘s production. The first fourteen episodes of the documentary are now available to non-backers on the Double Fine YouTube channel.

  

  (The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing “Battle at Shellmound”)

  Part of Episode 11, “Ship It,” takes viewers to Peter McConnell’s studio as he writes music for one of Broken Age’s cutscenes and explains his process for composing and finding inspiration for his music. There’s even more game audio covered in Episode 13, “Crash Landing a Plane.” This episode features Camden Stoddard and the rest of the Double Fine audio team working on foley and sound design, while McConnell works with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to record some of the larger orchestral pieces for the soundtrack.

  If you haven’t had the chance to watch the Double Fine Adventure documentary, it’s a fascinating look at the development of the first part of Broken Age. The episodes mentioned above are highly recommended viewing, especially if you’re a fan of the game’s music and audio. Be sure to check those episodes out, and the complete documentary itself.

• Game Music

  Game Music Bundle 7 Is Now Available

  April 21, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Game Music Bundle 7 Is Now Available Share this Game Music Bundle 7 Is Now Available

  

  The seventh Game Music Bundle was recently released on the music site Loudr. Much like the previous bundles, the albums are available in two tiers. If you pay at least $1, you will receive five videogame music albums. These include Peter McConnell’s Broken Age OST and Austin Wintory’s Banner Saga OST. If you contribute $10 or more, you will unlock twelve more albums, one of which is Austin Wintrory’s newest album Transfiguration. Transfiguration is a piano arrangement album of Wintory’s music from the game Journey. The album is yet to be released on its own, so this is your first chance to get this latest album. The second tier also includes a number of other excellent game music albums, including the soundtracks to Escape Goat 2 and Tribes Ascend. There are also some extra prizes for the top ten contributors. These range from full color promotional posters from Broken Age to physical albums of the Banner Saga OST and Transfiguration.

  It’s quite a bargain for so much music. Grabbing the second tier at only $10 will get you over fourteen hours of music. Personally, I’m looking forward to listening to the piano arrangements of the Journey soundtrack on the Transfiguration album. Game Music Bundle 7 will be available for a little more than a week, so grab it while you can. You can check out the bundle at the Game Music Bundle site.

• Game Music, Reviews

  Broken Age: Act 1 OST (Review)

  January 29, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | 1 Comment Share this Broken Age: Act 1 OST (Review)

  

  Like many people, I was excited about the Double Fine kickstarter. The potential for creators like Tim Schafer to help revive the point-and-click adventure game genre was something I could get behind. After a few years of waiting, the Double Fine game titled Broken Age has had its first half released. As a backer I was able to play through an early copy and listen to the game’s soundtrack. For this game, Double Fine brought in game composer Peter McConnell. McConnell has previously worked with Tim Schafer on games like Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, and Brutal Legend. Since this is only Act 1 of Broken Age, this is technically only the first half of the soundtrack. When Act 2 comes out later this year, there will undoubtedly be more music and a second soundtrack.

  Now because the main appeal to games like Broken Age are the story and the areas you explore, I feel a minor spoiler warning is due. With most of the soundtracks that I review, I like to take into account how the music relates and works within the game. The music can certainly stand alone and be critiqued for its own merits, but its interaction with the game is still an important aspect. Because of this, I will end up discussing certain sections of the game and that may spoil minor plot points or reveal parts of what you will experience in the game. I promise that this review will not contain any major plot spoilers or solutions to puzzles. However, there are inevitably things that may give hints or details about portions of the game. The very names of the album’s tracks can even give things away. So following the jump after this paragraph, I will be going into potential spoiler territory. Read on if you dare. (more…)

Covering and promoting discussion of composers and music with a focus on video games and other contemporary media entertainment

Join Us Online Or Log in

 Got tips? Get in touch Or Browse our Categories Game Music Music Production Gear Anime Demoscene Software Television Doujin Chip Music Indie Music Film Events Japanese Miscellaneous Experimental Featured Editorial Reviews Interviews