Indie Game Music

• Game Music, Indie Music

  Varèse Sarabande Records releases Austin Wintory’s OST to Tooth and Tail

  November 4, 2017 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Varèse Sarabande Records releases Austin Wintory’s OST to Tooth and Tail Share this Varèse Sarabande Records releases Austin Wintory’s OST to Tooth and Tail

  

  Legendary music producer label Varèse Sarabande has released the official soundtrack to the strategy game Tooth and Tail, composed by Austin Wintory of Journey and Banner Saga fame.

  From the creators of the IGF-winning, best-selling game Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine, Tooth and Tail is set in a world of animal revolution. The Commonfolk, the Civilized, the Longcoats and the KSR are factions at war over who will eat and who will be eaten. Featuring music by Grammy nominated composer Austin Wintory. The music features themes for each faction which ranges from fast upbeat tarantellas, organ/violin tangos, Germanic waltz music and Eastern European folk dances.

  Incredibly honored to have TOOTH AND TAIL on the legendary @VareseSarabande records https://t.co/GGxfvDXDoG

  — Austin Wintory (@awintory) November 3, 2017

  The Tooth and Tail soundtrack features 23 tracks and is now available as an audio CD on the Varèse Sarabande website as well as on Amazon with Varèse Sarabande stating a vinyl release of the soundtrack will be forthcoming soon.

• Game Music, Reviews

  Soaring High – Owlboy Original Soundtrack (Review)

  November 30, 2016 | Hassan DuRant | Comments Off on Soaring High – Owlboy Original Soundtrack (Review) Share this Soaring High – Owlboy Original Soundtrack (Review)

  

  Gather ‘round, video game music nerds—I’m not going to let you sleep on what I’m calling right now as my favorite video game score of the year: the Owlboy OST.

  After a lengthy development process, D-Pad Studios released Owlboy earlier this month to wildly positive reviews. I sat down to play the game the literal minute I got home from work, and was instantly enraptured—not because the gameplay blew me away, but because of the sheer beauty of the score.

  (more…)

• Experimental, Game Music

  Surreal Synth from ‘Small Radios Big Televisions’ on November 8th

  November 1, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Surreal Synth from ‘Small Radios Big Televisions’ on November 8th Share this Surreal Synth from ‘Small Radios Big Televisions’ on November 8th

  

  Small Radios Big Televisions is a surreal indie game that I discovered amongst the IGF entrants in 2015 and have been patiently waiting to hear and see more of ever since. At the time it was a simple web-based prototype but its striking visual style and trippy ambiance was already well established. After much silence the game has emerged again ahead of its November 8th release date on Steam and PlayStation 4 with a new trailer and a soundtrack pre-order.

  Like an abstract point-and-click adventure, the game has you  mousing around factories in an abandoned sky-world in search of analog cassette tapes. When played back in your TD-525 device they transport you to surreal virtual worlds where you soon discover new ways to manipulate and explore the spaces.

  As you might expect the soundscapes that accompany this mish-mash of future tech and retro aesthetics is heavy on distortion and synthwave. There were already some great things to be heard in the prototype (still playable) but if the sample track, “Tundra”, above is any indication then the full score is much more nuanced. It has that airy, synth ambiance I loved in Fez and PONCHO and I can’t wait to hear the remaining 23 tracks on the album. You can pre-order the album now for $5 on Bandcamp. Full price on launch, and the price for the game itself, have yet to be announced.

• Featured, Game Music, Reviews, Software

  FRACT OSC (Game Review)

  April 22, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on FRACT OSC (Game Review) Share this FRACT OSC (Game Review)

  

  Yes, you are reading the title of this review correctly. This is a review of an entire game, rather than just the soundtrack. It seems like an unusual move for Original Sound Version, but this game proves to be an interesting exception. FRACT OSC is a game that is focused on the creation of music as its primary gameplay mechanic. It goes far beyond the usual use of interactive music in a game setting. While we could do a simple review of the soundtrack itself, it’s almost impossible to discuss the music without going into detail how the music is generated in the game. That said, it seems more appropriate to actually discuss the game, as well as the music. So consider this a review an analysis of both the game and the soundtrack.

  As mentioned in our PAX East preview, FRACT OSC is a first-person exploration game that revolves around the creation of music. The game was created by Richard E Flanagan, Quynh Nguyen, and Henk Boom of Phosfiend Systems. The gameplay is similar to exploration games like Myst or Riven. It’s all about the puzzles and exploration, with your progress only limited by your ability to solve problems. Originally the game was set to have multiple worlds with each world focusing on different music elements. One world, for example, would be centered around drums and rhythm. Eventually realizing that this approach might be a little too ambitious, the creators scaled it down to one world focusing on synthesizers and oscillation. Hence the subtitle OSC, short for oscillator, in the game’s name. An oscillator, in this case, is referring to the electric circuit that is used to generate electronic sound waves. So does the final product live up to its original premise? Read on to find out. (more…)

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