Tag: Mac

#WeeklyGameMusic: Just Dropped In (Stick It to The Man)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

#WeeklyGameMusic: New week, new music.

That’s right, folks. I’m here to drop more game music again. First on-plate is the wonderful Just Dropped In, composed by Kenny Rogers. A comical song that fits right in the hilarious game, Stick It to The Man.

The game stars Ray, a rather dull but otherwise ordinary man with a bad haircut. As he finally gets off his job as a hardhat tester, an airplane accidentally drops off its package on poor Ray’s head, rendering him unconscious. A short while after he wakes up in a health clinic, then thrown out due to lack of health insurance coverage, Ray discovers he suddenly started gaining psychic abilities, letting him move heavy objects from one place to another, turning thoughts into physical objects and vice-versa, and most importantly, being able to read minds. Shocked, confused, Ray hobbles back home while a few sneaky and mysterious agents start following him.

If I were to summarize Stick It to The Man in a sentence, it’s Psychonauts in 2D. The game significantly modernizes point-and-click adventure by combining it with platforming, and it comes off very naturally. Not to mention the outrageously hilarious dialog! The mind-reading capabilities not only serve as hints to what objects to bring to who, it also provides some insight on very psychologically unstable people. It’s incredibly funny how everyone in the game are almost self-aware that they’re in a game, then explain it away with a completely different reason.

Stick It to The Man is available on Steam for PC and Mac.

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Weekly Game Music: Budoar (Samorost 2)

Posted on 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: Lullaby (Crayon Physics Deluxe)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  Let’s move on from the anger-filled sad music, and onto a far more calming one.  Here’s Lullaby by composer _ghost.  It’s a simple composition that even children can enjoy, much like the game it comes from, Crayon Physics Deluxe.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is a puzzle game where the things you draw with a crayon becomes real objects, usable to solve its numerous levels.  All puzzles involve pushing a ball into a star, typically located in some ridiculous location.  The more creative the solution, the better!

Crayon Physics Deluxe was released on the PC in 2009.  It has also been ported onto Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

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Weekly Game Music: Team Fortress 2 (Main Theme)

Posted on 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 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 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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