Indie Game

Game Music, Indie Music

Ben Prunty brings us some Halloween Electro-Funk

October 18, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Ben Prunty brings us some Halloween Electro-Funk Share this

It’s that spooktacular time of the year again when we Americans overdose on Halloween. We’ve done our part in years past to feature appropriately spooky video game music and so have composers and remixers. One of this year’s offerings comes from Ben Prunty, the composer of FTL, Gravity Ghost and StarCrawlers. Described as “Halloween electro-funk”, the album is actually the soundtrack to upcoming indie brawler FrankNJohn but is rebranded here as ElectroCrypt in celebration of Prunty’s favorite holiday.

<a href="http://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/electrocrypt">ElectroCrypt by Ben Prunty</a>

“The music was inspired by Danny Elfman, the old Super NES game Zombies Ate My Neighbors, and the gleeful indulgence of OCRemix, a community of game music rearrangement artists that I love,” Prunty explains.

You can check out the full album on Bandcamp and pick it up for $5 if so inclined. Prunty adds that the sales from the album are going towards getting his live shows up and running.
Chip Music, Game Music

Pony Island Game Soundtrack is coming to Vinyl

October 7, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Pony Island Game Soundtrack is coming to Vinyl Share this

OCTOBER 6, 2016 – Black Screen Records will release Jonah Senzel’s amazing soundtrack of the critically acclaimed indie game Pony Island on vinyl this November. The bubbling 8bit soundtrack will come on limited edition 180 gram clear and audiophile 180g black vinyl. The artwork was exclusively designed by the game’s creator Daniel Mullins. The soundtrack comes with a free Steam code, which can be used to download full game as well as the mp3 version of the soundtrack on Steam.

<a href="http://jonahsenzel.bandcamp.com/album/pony-island-ost">Pony Island OST by Jonah Senzel</a>

“Pony island is a game with two distinct faces: the cheerful outer facade, and the evil lurking under the surface. Most of the soundtrack is based around this idea of the “devil within” that’s present throughout the game. The most fun part of writing the soundtrack was composing really over the top cheerful cutesy Tracks for the cheery sections and then turning around and getting as gritty and evil sounding as possible for the devil sections. For the happy sections I channeled my inner children’s TV composer using fun, light and bouncy melodies played on old school 8bit synths as well as real instruments like the ukulele. – Jonah Senzel; Developer & Composer

A trippy and unique experience that will make the player desperate and stunned at the same time. Pony Island is probably most enjoyable when played without knowing what to expect. Without giving too much away, it can be said that the game works mostly on the meta-level and it will take some time to figure out where the story is heading. A marvelous game for long and sleepless nights that will leave you pondering and amazed, while enjoying it’s varied music that perfectly fits the constant ups and downs of cheerful and vicious moments. For more information on the game visit www.pony-island.com

Pre-order the soundtrack for Pony Island now at WWW.BLACKSCREENRECORDS.COM

Source: Black Screen Records
Game Music

Owlboy Soundtrack Offers Unique Purchase Options

September 13, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Owlboy Soundtrack Offers Unique Purchase Options Share this

Owlboy is a lush 2D open-world adventure game that has been a labor of love by D-Pad Studio for the past eight years. While pixelart was a fresh stylistic choice for indie developers back in 2008, Owlboy retains its wow factor thanks to its high-bit sprites and detailed backdrops. Looking at the game, it’s no surprise it took a team of five nearly a decade to complete and it’s finally launching November 1st on Steam.

The soundtrack, however, is one aspect of the game that hasn’t been covered in the years of dev blog updates and preview builds, until now. Composer Jonathan Geer (Neon Chrome and Cook, Serve, Delicious) has released a sampler soundtrack on Bandcamp with three preview tracks and an interesting purchase model. Read more and check out the music inside.

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Game Music

Drift Stage Features Car-Shaped Vinyl now for Pre-Order

June 6, 2016 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

If you’re a vinyl enthusiast and an appreciator of indie game music, then record label Ghost Ramp has just the thing to tickle your fancy; a car-shaped record for their release of the soundtrack to the PC driving game Drift Stage.

The 7-inch vinyl is available for pre-order for $15 and features the track “Applied Dynamics” on Side A, and track “Touge Run” on Side B. The cyberpunk-inspired music by Hugh Myrone can also be bought on Bandcamp for $2.

Drift Stage is a modern evolution of the classic arcade racer, bringing the gameplay up to date a bit while keeping the late 80’s style intact.

In these street races, speed reigns supreme. The art of the drift is easy to learn and immediately fun, but it’s true depth and challenge are hard to master.

The game itself is currently in early alpha-demo and can be downloaded on the game’s website for public play. You can check out more on the game’s development on their official Twitter, and more on the game’s soundtrack on Myrone’s Twitter.
Game Music

Wailing Heights Trailer Shows You how to be a Deadbeat

January 28, 2016 | Shawn Sackenheim | 1 Comment Share this

It’s been a while since I first posted about Wailing Heights, a macabre musical adventure game from Outsider Games. Since their reveal announcement back in September the team has moved into the Top 30 on Steam Greenlight. To celebrate the game’s ongoing coverage and positive reaction they’ve released a new trailer featuring the 60’s stylings of The Deadbeats.

The Deadbeats are the world renowned band that Frances Finklestein to manage back when he had a body. In the land of Wailing Heights he finds himself doing the “body-hop” to jump from hipster vampire to Motown zombie, all in the search for a way to reunite with his body.
Game Music, Indie Music

Macabre Musical Adventure Game Wailing Heights Announced

September 24, 2015 | Shawn Sackenheim | Comments Off on Macabre Musical Adventure Game Wailing Heights Announced Share this

I don’t normally go for point and click adventure games but Wailing Heights is combining a lot of stuff I like. Graphic novel styled artwork, a monster village filled with vegan werewolves and hipster vampires, and the promise of a musical adventure in both gameplay and story.

You wake up in Wailing Heights’ prison as Frances Finklestein, former manager of the greatest 60’s rock band, and have to find a way to escape this purgatory. You’re quickly introduced to the “body-hop”, a musical mechanic that lets you jump between characters and escape your cell, but you still have to find a way to free your own body. Given that this is an adventure game it’s not going to be as easy as simply finding a key.

Exploring the Heights, interacting with characters and “borrowing” their unique abilities, you’ll explore a story created by Kevin Beimers (Hector: Badge of Carnage, Schrodinger’s Cat) realized through that gorgeous comic art style. But the music, critical as it is to the experience, is still a bit of a mystery. You can get an idea of the vibe they’re going for in the announcement trailer above but exactly how it all figures into the gameplay is still a secret. It sounds great, though, and very much a unique soundtrack for an adventure game if it holds to this style.

Hopefully much more will be seen (and heard) from Wailing Heights at the upcoming EGX show in the UK where Outsider Games will be showing it off for the first time.