18 February 2015

Psycho Starship Rampage development news

Hey folks, a little update in here to let you in a little as to how the development of Psycho Starship Rampage is going. Since the team launched its Greenlight (don’t forget to vote!), a lot of feedback was received. I first want to thank warmly all reviewers and testers who have commented enthusiastically on the soundtrack! It’s very, very good to hear that you like the tracks so far, and that you enjoy the atmosphere. More tracks in that vein are definitely coming, along with many sound effects, and a slight remastering of the current tracks to better balance the mixes (which remain a bit rough to my ear at the moment).

Ballistic Frogs have issued a blog post summarizing the feedback that was received and where will the development go; check it out! I would like to share with you a little of what sound design and music composition for video games entail. From my experience, I view a good game soundtrack as one you remember oustide gaming, and yet does not intrude on your gaming experience when you actually play. To me, in a video game, everything must contribute to the gameplay, including the music. If I intrude on your playing the game, if I shout to you, in a way: “listen to me! listen to how awesome I am!” then I fail the game and I fail you. The soundtrack must carry the gameplay and your experience, lift you up, but not to the point that it becomes invasive.

So what that means, sound-wise, is that the pace of the game will increase and the graphics will change (check the image of that post). This does not fundamentally change the soundtrack design, but this might mean some tweaking in the existing tracks, especially in Space Graveyard : for instance I might increase a little the tempo, and fill in more rhythm in the bridge section to increase the pace as well. But we’ll see! Nothing beats hands-on experience and feeling and when I get the new release in my hands (lucky me!) I will see what is needed in my opinion, if anything is.

In the meantime, I’m still designing new tracks, and have been researching some cool effects (hint: crazy AI voice!). If you’d like to discover first what they will be, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and/or social networks.

All glory to the rampage!

Overture (Requiem for a Starship) // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  1. Overture (Requiem for a Starship) // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  2. Hero, Really? // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  3. You’re Really Not The Hero (boss) // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  4. Space Graveyard // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  5. This Will Be Your Space Grave (boss) // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  6. Mega Tribute // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack
  7. Last Tribute (boss) // Wildphinn - Psycho Starship Rampage Original Game Soundtrack