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#WeeklyGameMusic: Following Stanley (The Stanley Parable)

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

Today’s music is an upbeat song of excitement and adventure! It’s also 10-hours long. So…Let’s hike with the game, The Stanley Parable, with jolly cooperation! We’re Following Stanley (composed by Blake Robinson)!

Now, where to start with The Stanley Parable? Hmm, well, it’s about Stanley, that’s for sure. A man who happily pushes buttons as instructed by a screen monitor. Perhaps due to his tedious job, Stanley doesn’t operate well by himself, and even gets lost in his dreary, featureless office. Naturally, fate would have it that one day, he receives no instructions. On top of that, all of his coworkers disappears. And Stanley, not sure what to do, decides to venture out of his office, and into the depths of his company. Or so we are told…

The Stanley Parable is a walking simulator, a mid-life crisis simulator, a not-game, and a philosophy. The game shines best on its narrative, or more precisely, the awareness of the narrative. As you, the player plays the game, the game is playing you.

So I won’t mince my words when I say the game has minimal action. The enjoyment one gets from the game is entirely out of its narration, and holy cow does it feature one of the funniest, darkest narrator in the gaming history. The Stanley Parable is a rare gem that delivers a story in such a way that very few other mediums can properly portray. It stands as a shining example of how to tell a story when your main actor, the player, doesn’t have to follow the game’s directions.

The Stanley Parable is available on Steam for PC and Mac.

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#WeeklyGameMusic: 9-bit Expedition (Dustforce)

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

Let’s go for something more relaxing and slightly more old school with 9-bit Expedition, composed by Terence Lee. It’s a good thing this music is so calming because the game, Dustforce, can be very, very difficult.

Dustforce‘s story is pretty simple. Ahem! The world is in chaos, and covered in dust. Eeeeeeevil dust that transforms innocent animals into violent creatures. And generally making everything ugly. It’s up to the 4 acrobatic, wall-climbing janitors to rid of the dirt and smudge that contaminates this oh-so-vulnerable world!

Sarcasm aside, Dustforce has some very sick moves to show. It’s a hardcore 2D platformer, and each janitor has awesome capabilities, including double-jump, wall-climb, running on ceilings, and most important of all, whipping down enemies with lots of lights and flashes. Said abilities are critical for eliminating dusts on floors, walls, ceilings, breakable blocks, and animals. For casual play, removing all dust isn’t exactly necessary, but for completionist, it is a must to get the best scores in every level. Elegant and acrobatic, this game is a true feast for the eyes and fingers.

Dustforce is available on Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux.

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Weekly Game Music: Budoar (Samorost 2)

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Taro Omiya

New week, new music. This week, we return to the subtle with the strange world of Samorost 2. Budoar by Tomáš Dvořák is a mellow composition with an excellent melody. It’s unique mood fits well with the alien planets our heros explores.

Samorost 2 narrates a nameless man’s journey, starting with a sudden alien abduction of his dog. Still in his pajamas, the man hurries into his rocket ship and locates the abductor’s planet. Learning that his dog is used as a power generator in a hamster wheel, he quickly sets off on a stealth mission to save his loyal pet.

Samorost 2 is a beautiful point-and-click adventure where one clicks on items and points of interest to guide the man’s way into the alien hideout. Unlike most point-and-click adventures, Samorost 2 doesn’t retain saves. Instead it relies on a password system similar to the Megaman series. The many planets the man visits are incredibly detailed and varied, sometimes resembling…something you can’t quite put a finger on.

Samorost 2 was released on the PC, Mac, and Linux in 2005.

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Weekly Game Music: Team Fortress 2 (Main Theme)

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Taro Omiya

New week, new music. As a sort of belated celebration that Team Fortress 2 Beta is now out for Linux, I present you, Team Fortress 2 (Main Theme)! The fast-paced orchestrated composition by Mike Morasky really gets the adrenaline running.

So, about Team Fortress 2‘s story. It’s only mentioned via webcomics and other non-game related mediums, but it goes something like this: two brothers, Redmond and Blutarch, convinces their wealthy father, Zepheniah Mann to purchase several land pieces in the US. As fate may have it, Zepheniah comically catches every disease possible while traveling to these newly bought landmarks. Upon death, Zepheniah made sure his son had to earn his land. Thus, both brothers decide to hire mercenaries to take over Zepheniah’s land.

Team Fortress 2 is a team-based first-person shooter which pits team RED and BLU against each other. The various missions can include capture-the-flag (or briefcase, in this case), defending/taking over marked bases, and man-of-the-mountain. On top of various different characters that all plays differently from each other, Team Fortress 2 also has a lot of unlockables as well.

Team Fortress 2 was first released on the PC in 2007. It’s available on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Mac, and Linux via Steam.

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Weekly Game Music: Setting Sail, Coming Home (Bastion)

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Taro Omiya

Third on my Christmas video game music rush has some lyrics! Set Sail, Coming Home is Darren Korb’s excellent combination of his 2 other music,Mother, I’m Here and Build That Wall, both featured prominently in the game,Bastion. In context, this song depicts the decision of taking on a new direction in life. It does a great job conveying a hopeful but mysterious and unnerving outlook on the future ahead.

Bastion begins right after a catastrophic event know as the Calamity, where every land is torn apart and nothing is held on solid ground. The player directs the Kid, while Rulf the engineer narrates every action he takes. They both work hard to get Rulf’s time-reverting machine, Bastion, back up and working.

Bastion plays like a top-down action RPG where the Kid switches between a variety of different weaponry, all with well-calculated pros and cons. At any one point, the Kid can carry two, along with 2 special attacks. The enemies you encounter are varied, and require different tactics to kill, thus requiring a lot of wit from the player to take out efficiently.

Bastion was released on 2011 for the Xbox 360. It’s also available on Google Chrome’s Webstore, PC, Mac, Linux, and Steam.

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Weekly Game Music: Mushrooms (Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP)

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Taro Omiya

Looks like I’ve missed 4 weeks from the massive crunch month I’ve had with developing SWARM! So it’s only fair I share 4 musics in quick succession. First one up is Mushrooms from a former indie rocker, Jim Guthrie. It plays when the Scythian eats — you guessed it — a mushroom in Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP. A very hypnotic music, I assure you.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP tells a story of a warrior, only known as the Scythian, who accidentally awakens the evil spirit, Gogolithic Mass. Promising peace for the nearby citizens, the Girl, LogFella, and Dogfella (very creative names, there), the Scythian seeks for great mythical powers to seal it. Even if the it costs her own life…

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is a hybrid of two games: a point-and-click adventure, where one taps to navigate the character and observe interesting things, and a Punch-out style rhythmic combat system. Both work in harmony to create a puzzle game where the rules are vague, and the solutions are magical and nonsensical. Despite its shortcomings, however, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP stands tall as a bold experience, and an even bolder attempt to widen the iPad audience.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was released on the iPad in 2011. It’s also available on Android, PC, Mac, Linux and even Steam.

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