GDC 2009

Game Music

GDC 2009: Interview With Gerard Marino and Carmen Rizzo

April 21, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on GDC 2009: Interview With Gerard Marino and Carmen Rizzo Share this

Here we are with the last of our coverage to come out of GDC 2009. I’m honestly still recovering from the five day conference last month, but it surely was a lot of fun. On the final day of the conference, we were able to sit down with Gerard Marino and Carmen Rizzo to discuss their panel and talk about the game they’ve been busily working on over this past year.

As more information about this title becomes available, you can bet we’ll be covering it as the music sounds absolutely amazing. In the meantime, enjoy our discussion about blending musical styles, the potential for collaboration in the future, and Rizzo’s thoughts on digital versus physical distribution and film and games in general. The infamous Gerard Marino holiday party Guitar Hero contest where I supposedly “hustled” (or beat) him also comes up, so be sure to check that out. We already knew Gerard was awesome, but I hope gamers come to know Carmen Rizzo’s music as he’s extremely talented and a cool guy all around.

Read our interview with the duo after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

Rhythm Heaven Review: I Can’t Get it Out of my Head (And Why You Won’t, Either)

April 3, 2009 | Michael Schiciano | 14 Comments Share this

Among the various things that happened during GDC, Satoru Iwata delivered his keynote detailing the development process used at Nintendo when making games, citing an upcoming title as an example of this process. The game was Rhythm Heaven (known as Rhythm Tengoku Gold in Japan), and at the end of his presentation, everyone who attended the event got a free copy of the DS title that is hitting stores on Monday.

Since then, I’ve played through the game enough to get every stage unlocked, and almost all of them completed at a “superb” rating. Why is this the case? It’s not like the gameplay is deep in any particular way (as almost all actions are done either with tapping, releasing, or flicking the stylus across the touch screen), and it’s not like the stages offer any variations when replayed. So what is the reason for this addiction?

Find out in our Rhythm Heaven review after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

GDC 2009: Shooting The Breeze With Hitoshi Sakimoto

April 2, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 3 Comments Share this

It was the final day of GDC, and with no particular agenda, Tim and I strolled into our interview with Hitoshi Sakimoto. What we found is that he’s amazingly mellow and easy to talk to. We discuss a variety of topics ranging from Sakimoto’s many trips to the United States, some of Basiscape’s recent projects, their company philosophy, and the unacceptable lack of an Opoona soundtrack release.

We also get Sakimoto’s opinion on the underground game music scene (which you may be surprised to hear), and find out that we’re not the only guys who are fans of Ken Hirai! Finally, we discuss what’s next for Sakimoto and Basiscape before heading our separate ways.

Read our interview with Hitoshi Sakimoto after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

GDC 2009: Worlds Collide With Gerard Marino and Carmen Rizzo

April 1, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | Comments Off on GDC 2009: Worlds Collide With Gerard Marino and Carmen Rizzo Share this

What happens when you combine God of War composer Gerard Marino with Carmen Rizzo, one of the top guys in global electronic music? Amazing things, apparently, as was demonstrated by the duo’s GDC panel titled “The Dynamic Composing Duo: An Orctronica Case Study.” The two are currently working on an MMO that I’ve been told not to mention, but if you do a little digging around the Internet, it’s pretty easy to find out what it is.

The much-too-brief 20-minute session was packed with music clips from the title, all of which sounded amazing. Even more, we were able to get a look into what the two originally submitted as their demo for the project as well as hear both Gerard and Carmen’s contributions separately and together, which was a cool experience. I’ll say right now that I’m really excited about the music for this game!

Hit the jump to find out why. (more…)
Game Music

GDC 2009: G.A.N.G. Awards, the “wow, it’s bright up here.” drinking game.

March 31, 2009 | Tim Sheehy | 7 Comments Share this

Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) held it’s annual awards show this past week at the 2009 Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco, CA. This would mark the guild’s 7th award show since it’s inception, and as in previous years, featured a number of performances, speeches and a bar–albeit not an open bar as I had hoped. On the topic of alcohol though, the show could make for an interesting drinking game should anyone go back and try to watch recordings of it.

Find out what I mean and check out the winners after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

GDC 2009: Interview With Capcom Sound Director Tetsuya Shibata

March 29, 2009 | Jayson Napolitano | 5 Comments Share this

[Left to right: Wataru Hokoyama, Jayson Napolitano, Norihiko Hibino, Tommy Kikuchi, Tetsuya Shibata]

Tim’s right when he says its been a long week at GDC. But it’s been a lot of fun too. We were fortunate enough to be able to catch up with Tetsuya Shibata, the Sound Director at Capcom Japan. He made his way to the San Francisco for the sole purpose of being present for the evening’s G.A.N.G. Awards where his vocal theme from Devil May Cry 4 had been nominated in the “Best Vocal – Pop” category.

We briefly discuss Resident Evil 5 and Devil May Cry 4, as well as his other 2008 projects. We also learn about Shibata’s progression through the audio department at Capcom, and discuss his role in putting the Breath of Fire Special Box together. An interesting discussion is head.

Read our interview with Tetsuya Shibata after the jump. (more…)
Game Music

GDC 2009: Norihiko Hibino Means Business, Extends Hand To West

March 28, 2009 | Tim Sheehy | 6 Comments Share this

It’s been a long week at the Game Developers Conference here in San Fransisco. Thankfully, there were plenty of panels, interviews and events to keep us busy. One of those said panels included a presentation by none other than composer and OSV contributor Norihiko Hibino. He provided us with an in-depth look into Japanese business practices surrounding game audio and dispelled a rumor or two in the process.

Learn about some of the gritty details after the jump. (more…)