GMB3

Featured, Game Music, Reviews

A Soundtrack By Any Other Name: Dustforce OST (Review)

May 30, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on A Soundtrack By Any Other Name: Dustforce OST (Review) Share this

Composer Lifeformed (real name Terence Lee) released the soundtrack for indie platforming hit Dustforce with its own album title “Fastfall.” “Dustforce OST” is the album’s sub-title. So we have an artist under an alias releasing a soundtrack with its own name. Kind of confusing, I know.

Naming convention aside, this 18-track Wunderland of an album is currently headlining alongside the other albums in Game Music Bundle 3. It’s about time we talk about it.

(Also, if you’re reading this after the bundle is over, you can pick up the soundtrack individually here, currently priced at $4.)

After the jump, we’ll take a close look at what makes this soundtrack so charming. Hint: naming convention remains part of the charm, though that’s certainly not the central focus. (more…)
Featured, Game Music, Indie Music

The Economizer: Indie Game Music Bundle 3 is out NOW!

May 28, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on The Economizer: Indie Game Music Bundle 3 is out NOW! Share this

And it’s looking GOOD!

Head to gamemusicbundle.com right now to check out the wares and make the purchase. I’ll also give you the album details here.

For the $1 minimum, you get five high-profile soundtracks. They are:

Terraria | Plants vs. Zombies | DustForce | ilomilo | Frozen Synapse

Pay $10 or more and the rewards get even sweeter:

Offspring Fling! | Noitu Love 1+2 et al | Cardinal Quest | inMomentum | _ensnare_’s “Impeccable Micro” | Protodome’s “Bluescreen” | George & Jonathan’s “Beautiful Lifestyle” | Disasterpeace’s “Rise of the Obsidian Interstellar” + “Deorbit” | GunGirl 2 | Astroman | The Blocks Cometh | Fittest | Songs for the Cure ’11: Remedy | Songs for the Cure ’10

Editor’s Note: this post will be updated with URLs to our reviews as they’re posted for the duration of the GMB3 sale!

We’ve been informed that, this time around, there won’t be any “unlocked” soundtracks over time. Though there could be some surprise bonuses anyway. Top bidders will also be privy to all sorts of neat goodies, including the vinyl soundtrack for Indie Game: The Movie. So what are you waiting for? In the infamous words of Fry (and half the Internet these days), “Shut up and take my money!” (Editor’s Note: such a great phrase, I decided to use it in the header image for our next post!)
Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Monumental and “Mana”-esque: Offspring Fling Soundtrack (Review)

May 15, 2012 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

Kyle Pulver’s latest creation, Offspring Fling, is an insanely cute (and fun!) puzzle-platformer built using FlashPunk.

In the past, Kyle has worked with composer Alec Holowka (who is himself an indie game developer as well). Holowka returns to help with Offspring Fling, and the results are… well, they’re downright magical.

After the jump you’ll learn why you should pick up this album, why I think Holowka has the power to channel Yoko Shimomura, and the inevitable bandcamp embed! (more…)
Chip Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Take a Break From Frozen Synapse with Impeccable Micro (Review)

May 14, 2012 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Take a Break From Frozen Synapse with Impeccable Micro (Review) Share this

Frozen Synapse, from Mode 7 Games, is a once-underground hit gone above-ground due to critical mass, much like Minecraft, though for different reasons. But I’m not really here to talk about Frozen Synapse, or even its soundtrack. I am here to talk about the game’s composer, Paul Taylor.

Paul, under the alias “nervous_testpilot,” scored Frozen Synapse and other Mode 7 titles, and has even released original content under that name. And yet, one pseudonym was not enough to contain the power of Paul Taylor. I’ve been listening to a lot of his work in the past few weeks, just taking an interest in his collected works, and the one that stood out to me the most was a dance-friendly chiptunes release called “Impeccable Micro.”

Apparently, the style of Impeccable Micro was different enough to force Taylor to change his name, yet again. Even though it’s still just him releasing it as a solo work, he takes on the stage name _ensnare_ for this project, which was released in the 2nd half of 2011. After the jump, my thoughts on Impeccable Micro, and how to add the album to your own music collection. (more…)
Chip Music, Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Good Music for a Good Cause: Songs for the Cure ’11 – Remedy (Review)

April 6, 2011 | Jayson Napolitano | 1 Comment Share this

We’ve seen Songs for the Cure in the past, but never like this. Three separate discs, 40 artists, and a ton of great music. The artist roster this year is mind-blowing, and organizer Josh Whelchel has made the music easier to digest by arranging the tracks into similarly-styled collections, the first of which we’ll be checking out is Remedy.

So, just who’s on Remedy? As Whelchel puts it, “The game people.” While you won’t get Alexander Brandon here (he’s on the vocal album, Esuna), nearly everyone else we mentioned in our news post a few weeks ago is here.

What do we think of the Remedy collection? Find out in our review after the jump. (more…)
Chip Music, Doujin, Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

40+ “Songs For The Cure” in 2010 (Review)

March 5, 2010 | Patrick Gann | 1 Comment Share this

Josh Whelchel, indie game music composer and good friend to many OSV staff members, last year collaborated on a special project to raise charity funds for the American Cancer Society.

The Indie Music Cancer Drive, headed by Josh Whelchel and others, is releasing a two disc set this year, “Songs For The Cure ’10.” A number of indie game music composers, arrangers, as well as other indie artists contributed to the project.

Though you can always just give money to charity, the draw here is that you can get either a physical or digital copy of this set of music with a small donation. Here at OSV, we’re doing our part to promote the album by telling you exactly what interesting music, game-related or not, you’ll find on this collection. Learn more after the jump. (more…)