Video Games

Game Music, Reviews

Take A Trip to Paradise: Yoku’s Island Express (Review)

July 2, 2018 | Joshua Carraway | 1 Comment Share this

Everyone has seen images of what it’s like to be on vacation at a sunny beach, ocean waves rolling onto the sandy shore. Then you have the palm trees with their bounty of coconuts, leaves gently swaying in the breeze. Let’s not forget the wildlife going about their daily routine, chirping and wailing all while you go into a peaceful state of mind. Then, there’s also the off chance that something goes wrong. The trip could get cut short for a random life event, you might get bitten by a crab as you were trying to get a closer look or maybe you just got too much sand in your pants. A somewhat similar event can be derived from Yoku’s Island Express Original Video Game Soundtrack. Let’s see how that image holds up after the jump! (more…)
Game Music

Back-to-Back Kickstarters with Legendary Composers

February 20, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Back-to-Back Kickstarters with Legendary Composers Share this

It’s been a very intriguing month for Kickstarters involving some big names in the game music industry. Just a few days ago the adventure RPG platformer Unraveled hit Kickstarter seeking a modest funding, and with just a few days left the survival horror love letter NightCry is looking to secure it’s final funds. What’s more, both games are boasting some big names in the game music industry.

The nostalgic ’80s throwback platformer, Unraveled is a charming tale about childhood fantasy and dreams whilst dealing with powerful real-life messages. In production under RosePortal Games, the already beautiful-looking game will have it’s soundtrack under the control of industry veteran Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana, Soul Calibur V) with assistance from Dale North (Silent Horror, Dragon Fantasy Book II) The project already looks akin to Secret of Mana with its visuals and gameplay style, so having Kikuta-san at the helm is a sure bet.

Another ongoing Kickstarter project with some big-name talent is NightCry, aka. Project Scissors; a survival horror spiritual successor to the Clock Tower games and with none other than Clock Tower creator Hifumi Koto helming the charge. This creepy project has a ton of incredible talent involved already, and that’s not counting the fact the audio director is Nobuko Toda (Metal Gear Solid series, Halo 4), but also sports Michiru Yamane (Castlevania series, Skullgirls) adding her amazing talent to the sum total of the game’s eerie tone.

Unraveled is looking for a rather frugal sum of $15,000 to fund the basic game’s creation, while NightCry is in it’s final 65 hours of looking for the much more typical game development funding of $300,000 to fund its huge team. Something to keep note of for anyone interested in some great soundtracks to some interesting-looking games.

Unraveled – Kickstarter | Facebook

NightCry – Kickstarter | Facebook
Game Music

Shnabubula & Soshiro Hokkai Composing for Americana Dawn

November 29, 2014 | Brenna Wilkes | 1 Comment Share this

Chiptune artist Samuel “Shnabubula” Ascher-Weiss and Japanese video game composer Soshiro Hokkai are the two big-name composers who will be working on one of the newest video game Kickstarters circulating the scene, Americana Dawn.

Americana Dawn is a role playing game which explores over two centuries of early American history using a new tradition of folklore and tall tales inspired by Genso Suikoden and Mark Twain. Throughout its story, we follow Foster, the spirit of the sea, a gentle and innocent being who arrives in America with no apparent heritage or home. Lost to the wilderness of Shenandoah Valley, he lives in complete isolation for a hundred years until he is found and recruited in the provincial militia. – Kickstarter Home Page

Shnabubula is known within the gaming music and chiptune scene for his amazing musical talent and composing ability and seems like the perfect choice for such a project as Americana Dawn, and would mark his first game composition debut. Soshiro Hokkai, a guest composer for the game, is known for his work with the Castlevania series; most notably Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. Both men have gobs of ability that lend a lot to this project.

Americana Dawn

So if you’re interested in checking the prowess of both of these amazing composers, as well as funding what by all account looks to be a great game, check out Americana Dawn‘s Kickstarter page and help contribute to gaming diversity and musical genius!

Americana Dawn – Kickstarter
Featured, Game Music

Halo Composer Marty O’Donnell is Suing Bungie Over Unpaid Benefits

June 6, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Halo Composer Marty O’Donnell is Suing Bungie Over Unpaid Benefits Share this

Back in April, the game development studio Bungie fired Marty O’Donnell from his position as audio director. It was reported at the time, and stated by O’Donnell, that he had been terminated “without cause.” It now appears that this matter is not going to end quietly. Before being fired by Bungie, O’Donnell was working on Bungie’s upcoming and highly anticipated game Destiny. Many people are no doubt familiar with the composer’s work on the original Halo soundtrack.

According to a report from VentureBeat, a suit was filled against Bungie and its chief executive, Harold Ryan, by O’Donnell back on May 1st. In the suit he claims that Bungie failed to pay him for several benefits, including paid time off and unpaid vacation time. As of May 27, Bungie has denied that O’Donnell is due any compensation.

O’Donnell is also pursuing claims of additional grievances against the company and Harold Ryan, which have not been revealed at this time. We will update on this once more information becomes available.

Source: Venture Beat