Release Date: 09/08/2012
Played On: Win
Available On: Lin / Mac / Win
Time Played: 5h 47m
Progress: Played a bunch of tracks
Developer: Empty Clip Studios
Publisher: Empty Clip Studios
To this day, no music driven game has managed to get its generation formula as precise as Audiosurf. I love the idea of using my own music library to automatically generate levels to play in a game, but it turns out that coding for procedural creation is really difficult.
I mean, it has to be difficult, because most music driven games fail to really nail the experience properly. Note that I'm not saying rhythm games, as these are a different beast entirely. Titles like Rock Band or the Hatsune Miku games feature hand-crafted prompts that have been timed with their own selection of music.
In contrast, a music driven game is one that creates its levels on the fly, by reading any music file and interpreting it in certain ways. The best example (and the top of its class) is Audiosurf, which creates a track to race on with turns and elevation determined by the music. One way to think of it is that you're riding the sine wave of the audio, making for some exhilarating gameplay that syncs perfectly with whatever soundtrack you choose.
The reason I am so in love with music driven games, is largely thanks to loving music. Over the years I have collected a library of artists and albums from a wide variety of genres and time. I get a real kick out of being able to find something that suits my mood at any given moment of the day, and I will continue to collecting music for the rest of my days. I don't say any of this for any other purpose than to illustrate that music is a big part of my life, and something I'm passionate about in general.
So when I realised I could combine music with gaming, it seemed like a sure thing that could never go wrong. I started off playing rhythm games like Guitar Hero, but there are only so many times you can play Lay Down by Priestess before it feels like going through the motions. For a while I explored other rhythm games, but the real downside to most games in the genre is paradoxically their soundtrack.
It might seem like an obvious thing to say that a rhythm game lives or dies on its soundtrack, but sometimes it seems that developers don't understand this point. There are soundtracks that just don't appeal to me, which is merely a question of taste and easily understandable. Then there are the ones that use repetitive and mundane tracks that you would never listen to in any other scenario. Those are the games that make me pull my hair out, as many of them are clever interpretations of the rhythm genre, but wasted on what essentially ends up being elevator music.
Hence the appeal of music driven games, where I get to dictate the soundtrack and fill it with my favourite musicians and songs. If I want something slow I can choose something chilled, or if I'm looking for a challenge it might be time for something more frantic and hardcore. With this amount of choice, the chance of getting bored of my own music library is virtually impossible. It's a shame then to think that most music driven games I've tried, have fallen short and been frustrating to play.
The most common complaint I have with the genre, is that most games don't know how to work with any style of music that isn't Pop or Electronica. The beats and melodies in these genres are very distinct and can be easily interpreted into a game level, but as soon as the density of the track builds, a lot of games fall apart.
Usually the first thing I do with any music driven game, is try out some contrasting genres of music. Hip-Hop is revealing, as there can often be a lot of empty space in between beats and vocals, rendering a lot of games unsure of how to fill the gaps. It often produces a jilted flow in the game, as many pause briefly between beats in a way that feels like hitching or lag.
Heavy Metal or Hardcore Punk music is another good indicator, as a lot of those tracks are dense with distorted guitars. Screaming vocals are even better as well, thanks to the dissonance created. These are the tracks that kill most music games, as they throw a fit and seem to have no idea how to find the rhythm of the track and build a coherent picture of the music.
By the same token Ambient or Classical music can throw off a game thanks to a lack of any clear beats or rhythms at all. Of course I'm not saying that these genres lack rhythms or beats, but without a clear kick drum or identifiable chord stabs, a lot of games have no idea what's going on. The result ends up being a randomly thrown together level that doesn't fit the music it's supposed to be emulating. When the entire game is built on the idea that you succeed by following a beat, it becomes unplayable when it doesn't even follow the beat in the first place.
This is why I will always refer back to the Audiosurf games, as for some reason they manage to get it right. Slow tracks slow down the game, clear kicks add sharp bumps in the road, and hardcore dense music ramps everything up to a fast and frantic skill tester. For whatever reason, Audiosurf is one of the only games in the genre where it actually gets the formula right.
You might be thinking that this isn't meant to be a post about Audiosurf, which is reasonable seeing as we're nearly at the end. Although, if I told you at the start that Symphony is one of the good ones in the music driven genre, you might not have understood what I mean. I don't want to assume ignorance, but I wanted to make myself clear: Symphony is one of the good ones.
Rather than following a track or mapping out a level, Symphony is a vertical shooter with enemy waves that react to the music. Your job is to survive through the entire track, and shoot down as many bad guys as possible. If you've ever played Beat Hazard (another good one), then you might get the idea, but it's a simple concept that works well and is fun to play.
Rather than going for precise representations of beats and rhythms, Symphony offers a more fluid understanding of music. Each track ends up being an ebb and flow of gameplay that dictates the waves of enemies you'll face. A slow tune might create a steady drip of enemies entering the stage, while faster rhythms trigger bigger and more frequent waves.
You can control your ship a number of different ways, but I found using the mouse to be the most responsive and satisfying. It's not so much about trying to shoot every enemy in every level, as it is about avoiding their shots and picking up the junk they leave behind. You're able to move in any direction, so there will be times where you dart around the stage while juggling priorities and picking targets.
Succeeding on tracks will unlock weapons and upgrades for your ship. There are four slots that you can apply a range of different attachments to suit your own preferences. I favoured the rapid fire machine guns, but you might prefer the wide spread of a shotgun, or the high impact of a sub-woofer that shoots bass notes on the beat. Each weapon can be upgraded for more power, and pointed in a number of directions. Thanks to the way the levels are built and enemies enter the stage, it might be wise to have something shooting off the side, as well as straight up.
These customisations are a welcomed system that adds depth to the game and even some replay value. For each track you can select the difficulty you want to try, which comes with better rewards, but higher targets. After a while, I found myself replaying my favourite tracks over and over again, just to see how far I could get. All the while I was earning credits to upgrade my ship and purchase more weapons.
All of this would have been enough, but there's even a little bit of story to pay attention to if you're that kind of player. The gist is that you're fighting against some kind of demon who has stolen musical masterworks from the world, or something like that. Every few levels or so, your track will be interrupted by the demon and you'll be given a boss fight to tackle. Defeating this difficult foe will unlock a piece of music and advance your way to freeing some of the masters of Classical music.
I can take or leave the story, but it's nice to have something else happening behind the scenes as you shoot your way through your music library. Having it broken up by a bit of gameplay that's specific to the game actually goes a long way in cementing the experience beyond more than just "what songs do I want to play".
This all makes Symphony an enjoyable music game that actually works with whatever tracks you choose to play. The downside to a game like Audiosurf, is that each track feels completely disjointed from any other, because there's nothing to tie it all together. Symphony manages to create a little bit of context with its story, even if it didn't grab me entirely. There's always the sense that you're working on something bigger, like a rogue-like that carries over progression.
While Symphony might not be as precise and responsive as Audiosurf, it does a good job of creating a tangible flow through the music. The waves spiking and calming along with each track feels smooth and appropriate for different genres. It's a good looking game that feels good to play, which is just about one of the nicest things I can say about any music driven game.