Pazar 4 Nis 2010, 8:27
These are among the most read, voted and tweeted items posted to the Nobuooo news website in March of 2010.
On the scene at the Game Developers Conference, video of Sound and Music as Narrative in Flower became one of the most highly viewed movies in the Nobuooo video series. The website helped publish a game arrangement compilation called IWADON: Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album, which was presented on at PAX East.
It was a full month, and here are selections from news, videos, flickr photo sets and interviews related to videogame music.
Photos
Nobuooo GDC 2010 photo set (currently 110 pictures)
The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is now underway. Photos from the event will be uploaded to Nobuooo's flickr photo set over the course of the event.
http://nobuooo.com/item/6960
Nobuooo's PAX East photo set (160 pictures so far)
PAX East is currently in full force in Boston, Massachusetts. Photos from the event will be uploaded in sets throughout the weekend. Currently there is media from Friday's IWADON panel and concert featuring Anamanaguchi, Metroid Metal, and Protomen.
News
Game Music 4 All announces IWADON: Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album, due out March 24
Game Music 4 All has announced that the next installment in their series of game cover albums is IWADON: Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album. A partnership with Nobuooo.com, an incredibly diverse collection of musicians has been gathered from all over the world to pay tribute to a composer who has been creating amazing game soundtracks for 20 years. All music will be streaming on the official site beginning March 24, followed by a PAX East presentation on March 26.
Audio from IWADON PAX East panel now on Iwadon.com
Today the IWADON Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album panel took place at PAX East. Audio from the entire half-hour presentation can be heard on track 35 of the Iwadon.com compilation.
http://nobuooo.com/item/7049
Blip Festival Tokyo Announced
New York's premier chip music event is headed to Koenji High in Tokyo, Japan on September 4 and 5. Scheduled artists include Hip Tanaka, Bit Shifter, Hally, Nullsleep, Starpause, Trash80, YMCK and more.
Anamanaguchi doing music for Scott Pilgrim game
Tonight at the PAX East concert, Peter Berkman of Anamanaguchi made a special announcement: that the band will be doing the music for the videogame based on the Scott Pilgrim comic book and forthcoming movie. Further details and images can be found on Attract Mode.
Nintendo announces new Nintendo 3DS portable system
Nintendo has announced its newest portable hardware, the Nintendo 3DS (a name which is marked as "temp" in the brief press release issued by the company). This new handheld is planned for launch in Nintendo's next fiscal year, which ends March, 2011.
Cave shooter Guwange coming to XBLA
amerBytes has posted on Cave's latest shooter port planned for the Xbox Live Arcade. Guwange, the1999 bullet hell shooter set in the Japanese Muromachi period, is due out in Japan in coming months. If Mushihime-sama is any indication, the shooter is likely to be localized as well. Music is by composer Masahiro Kusunoki.
VGM Daily - Ninja Warriors Again Opening
VGM Daily takes a look at the opening theme to Super Nintendo brawler Ninja Warriors. The track was covered by Stemage of Metroid Metal for the IWADON tribute to composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki.
http://nobuooo.com/item/7044
Kuniaki Haishima composing Metroid: Other M score
Siliconera has word that Metroid: Other M will be scored by a musician that has not previously composed for the series. Kuniaki Haishima, perhaps best known for the music to Siren 2, will be writing the soundtrack to the upcoming Wii title.
Anamanaguchi's Blackout City headed to Rock Band
Bytejacker has snagged, in their words, "a sweaty, frantic post-show interview" with Anamanaguchi at the 8-Bit Alliance Tour in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Peter Berkman tells that the band's "Blackout City" will be coming to Rock Band Network later this year.
http://nobuooo.com/item/6998
Lumines composer Takayuki Nakamura scores Stitch Jam
Takayuki Nakamura, the central composer for the Lumines series, has written all the original music for the upcoming Nintendo DS rhythm title for kids: Stitch Jam. A better use of time than creating a Lumines Supernova Remixes album? You be the judge.
Nobuooo February '10 - Highest Voted Items
The Nobuooo news website takes a look at the most read, voted and tweeted items related to videogame audio for February 2010. This past month Garry Schyman scored BioShock 2, a soundtrack album was announced for ThatGameCompany's Flower, Akira Yamaoka joined Grasshopper Manufacture, and the Korg DS-10 Plus software debuted. These are a selection of items from 2.2010.
Video
GDC Video: Sound and Music as Narrative in Flower
On the final day of the Game Developers Conference, music composer Vincent Diamante and SCEA sound designer Steve Johnson presented an audio session on the sound and music of Thatgamecompany's Flower. Nobuooo has uploaded a recording of the full presentation to Vimeo, which can be seen in eight parts.
IWADON: Spanky's Quest by Crashfaster
TCTD has posted the first promotional trailer for Game Music 4 All's Hiroyuki Iwatsuki tribute album that features a chiptune artist. 8bitsf's Crashfaster performs his cover of the Boss Battle theme from 1991 Natsume Game Boy title Spanky's Quest, set to footage taken at Kokoromi's GAMMA IV party at GDC. A list of IWADON's six participating chip musicians is included at the bottom of the post.
Cave Story creator's video interview
Cave Story composer and overall mastermind Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya gives his first video interview for Nintendo’s Developer’s Voice series. It includes some added PR by Nicalis producer Tyrone Rodriguez, who gave a talk at GDC on marketing strategies for videogame developers.
http://nobuooo.com/item/6993
IWADON: Road to the Future - Tatsuhico Mix - from Omega Five
The fifth installment in the IWADON video series is a remix of Road to the Future from Xbox Live Arcade shooter Omega Five. Tatsuhico of Sapporo, Hokkaido is the first musician apart from the composer to reinterpret the song, as Iwatsuki arranged the track for the remix portion of Omega Five Soundtracks, published by the Super Sweep game records company. The video features both music and photographs by Tatsuhico.
IWADON: Jetmen Take Flight (Choujin Sentai Jetman Stage 1)
The third promotional video in the IWADON series features a live music rendition of the Stage 1 theme from 8-bit Nintendo game Choujin Sentai Jetman, arranged by Ian Luckey. IWADON is a compilation of free videogame music covers in tribute to composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki.
IWADON: No Weather Who You Are (Ninja Warriors Boss Battle 6)
The fourth music video in the IWADON series is a reinterpretation of the Boss Battle 6 theme from Ninja Warrirors. Titled "No Weather Who You Are," it features arrangement and photographs by Alexander Piterskiy of Saint Petersburg, Russia. IWADON is a compilation of free videogame music covers in tribute to composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki.
IWADON: Victory Theme from Mitsume ga Tooru (NES)
The sixth video in the IWADON series features a live music rendition of the Victory theme from 8-bit Nintendo game Mitsume ga Tooru, arranged by Chris Porter. IWADON is a compilation of free videogame music covers by Game Music 4 All in tribute to composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki.
Podcasts
Into The Score - Radio Free Gamer interview
Kenley Kristofferson has posted a St. Patrick’s Day-themed episode of Into the Score. The mini installment of the podcast involves an interview with Justin of 8Bitx.com and Radio Free Gamer, as well as a discussion of Irish music and its influences on videogame scores.
Tommy Tallarico on Radio Free Gamer this week
This week on Radio Free Gamer, Tenchux and Justin interview Tommy Tallarico concerning the upcoming Video Games Live PBS special. Also featured is the newly released OCRemix Donkey Kong Country 2 album, Serious Monkey Business, featuring composers David Wise, Grant Kirkhope, and Robin Beanland. Finally, a tribute to prolific hip hop producer Nujabes (Seba Jun) will be aired, featuring a special fan arrangement from Robotaki. Tune in this Wednesday, March 24th at 7PM EST to listen and chat.
Releases
Baiyon/ Hip Tanaka collaboration now on iTunes
PixelJunk Eden art and music director Baiyon has released the third installment of the In the Collaborations single series. This time the Kyoto game designer is collaborating with Hip tanaka.ex, the composer of Mother, Metroid and Dr. Mario. The single is available for purchase on iTunes for $3.
Gaijin Games releases Bit.Trip Core Soundtrack
Gaijin Games has announced via their website that the BIT.TRIP CORE Original Soundtrack is now available via CDBaby and iTunes. The ten track album can be downloaded for $10, featuring chiptune composer and performer Bubblyfish. The soundtrack album to Bit.Trip Beat was previously released by the developers, featuring music by Bit Shifter.
http://nobuooo.com/item/7003
OverClocked ReMix releases Donkey Kong Country 2: Serious Monkey Business
OverClocked ReMix has released a Donkey Kong Country 2 remix album directed by Jeremy Waters and Wesley Cho. The album includes more than 30 tracks and over two hours of music. The credits theme is arranged and performed by Rare alumni David Wise, Grant Kirkhope and Robin Beanland.
Another Soundscape's Neon Glaciers release #2010 on OCR
Neon Glaciers by Another Soundscape is OverClocked ReMix number 2010. The track is an arrangement of Glacial Fortress from Omega Five, composed by Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, and is on the IWADON Hiroyuki Iwatsuki Tribute Album. Earlier this year, AnSo scored Morsel's Xbox Indie game Kaleidoscope.
Danny B's Steambirds and Gravity Hook HD soundtracks now on Bandcamp
Super Meat Boy and Canabalt composer Danny B. has made two additional game scores available for streaming on Bandcamp. The full soundtracks to Steambirds and Gravity Hook HD can be heard on the DB Soundworks page, or downloaded for as low as $1 each.
Cave Story hops onto WiiWare today
It’s been a long journey for Nicalis and Pixel, but Cave Story is finally complete. The WiiWare version makes its debut today, including the original build fully created by Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya, and the Wiimake featuring an arranged soundtrack by the talented Yann van der Cruyssen. The title can be downloaded for 1,200 Wii Points ($12).
GM4A Records presents Hideki Naganuma Tribute by Jeff Ramos
Jeff Ramos has created a DJ Mix album paying tribute to the music of Hideki Naganuma. The album is 30 minutes worth of club-ready, dance making tunes, care of Game Music 4 All Records.
http://nobuooo.com/item/6945
I Am Robot And Proud's Uphill City Remixes now on iTunes
Shaw-Han Liem is currently composing his first interactive soundtrack for a videogame designed by Everyday Shooter's Jonathan Mak. Today marks the release of his most recent album, I Am Robot And Proud: Uphill City Remixes & Collaborations. It can be purchased from iTunes for $9, featuring arrangements by various artists.
Interviews
Identity Through Music - Heavy Rain composer interview
Quantic Dream's Playstation 3 exclusive title has received a soundtrack release both on iTunes and as part of the Collectors Edition of the game. In this interview, Heavy Rain composer Normand Corbeil discusses his approach to the interactive drama's musical score and his previous experiences collaborating with director David Cage.
Dog Ear on Pia-Com and Nobuo Uematsu's Ten Short Stories
In this interview coinciding with the release of Nobuo Uematsu's Ten Short Stories in Japan, Dog Ear Records director Hiroki Ogawa and musician Keita Egusa offer their perspectives on the making of Dog Ear Records albums, including Pia-Com, Cellythm, and live performances of videogame music.
Edge Features: game audio still undefined
Edge online asks if there still an imbalance between the budgets afforded to game and film soundtracks, speaking with musicians Dan Bardino, Jerry Ibbotson, Richard Jacques, James Hannigan and Jon Vincent.
Grasshopper's Akira Yamaoka talks audio techniques
Akira Yamaoka of Grasshopper Manufacture today spoke at the Game Developers Conference on the subject of inspiring game players' emotions through the use of sound. Brandon Sheffield provides a summary of the talk on Gamasutra.
Scoring the Digital Download - Composers on Shatter, Gravity Crash, NightSky and Proud
Leading up to the Independent Games Showcase, composers discuss writing music for digital media. Participants include CoLD SToRAGE on his soundtrack to Gravity Crash for Playstation Network, Chris Schlarb on NightSky for WiiWare, Module on his IGF-nominated score to Shatter and Shaw-Han Liem of I Am Robot And Proud, who is currently collaborating with Jonathan Mak on a new game.
Whispers of the Plains: Keith Burgun on 100 Rogues
Dinofarms is an indepedant games company and publisher of role-playing game 100 Rogues. Coinciding with the free release of the soundtrack album, Simon of Higher Plain Music has sat down with lead designer and joint composer Keith Burgun to hear about the game creator's decision to go indie.
http://nobuooo.com/item/7068
Interview: Monster Hunter composer Masato Kouda's next wave
GameSetWatch talks with Monster Hunter series composer Masato Kouda on the founding of his new Tokyo-based sound studio Design Wave. Kouda's game-related soundtrack albums have included Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Istoria Musa and Sanctuary: The Star Onions.
Edge Online: Richard Jacques interview
Edge has posted an interview with game composer Richard Jacques, whose numerous scores include Sonic 3D, Jet Set Radio, Samba De Amigo and Headhunter. His latest soundtrack is for the game Alice in Wonderland, released today.
PAX East Interview: Towards a Paris & outpt Indie Game
This past weekend, while joining Anamanaguchi at the PAX East Friday concert, video jockeys Paris and outpt discussed initial design concepts for the experimental indie game they are developing together. The software is meant to involve audiences in the creative process behind generating live visuals.
http://nobuooo.com/item/7064
This concludes another eventful month in videogame music news. More items will be posted in May.