[This article originally appeared on Indie Superstar on January 7, 2011.]
What's a music game without music integration or a collection of songs with which to play? While part of the charm of Kick It is exploring the confounding algorithmic effects it has on your own musical library, Dejobaan has heard the cries for more lyrically luscious, original tunes and more beat-based gameplay. Check out Ichiro's answers to the latest barrage of audio-oriented questions, some YouTube samples of new gameplay mechanics, and the world premiere downloadable demo of the next great Dejobaan song, Future Shock.
I really liked the original song included. Will you expand the music track set?
Ichiro: We have a handful of songs planned, but again, what we include depends on what we can create. Originally, we intended to tell the game's backstory through its musical numbers, so we have a number called Future Shock in progress right now. Here's an early draft of the lyrics:
Future Shock Lyrics:
Verse 1:
The City spans a vertical mile, its shining
Twisting fractal art in the sky.
Your phone's smart; it's thinkin' up jokes
Your contacts lase an animation onto your eye.
Uplifted animals run for office.
They're humanly smart -- that's science for you!
The tourists follow Armstrong's step,
They're all popping designer drugs as they do.
Verse 2:
"There's no homeless, and we've all we can eat."
Said the Mayor's speech last night.
There's dogs and there's squid in the street.
They can vote, but don't got human rights.
Big pharma says: "Get ahead in life.
Dose your kid's brain; raise her IQ."
News says they turn vegetable,
But the EULA says you can't sue. And so...
Chorus:
Future shock is society's boon.
It might not kill us, just turn life around.
When am I s'posed to silence my phone?
Trust a robot surgeon of world-renown?
How many petabytes is enough?
How augmented do I want my reality?
In a world where we are merging our minds
How do we approach the Singularity?
The game's really about trouble coping with technological advancement.
How's about we break up this wall of text with a video?
What about finding some HOT indies artists or other indie game soundtracks that can contribute to the set list?
YES! (Readers, who would you like to accompany Dejobaan's Kick It?)
Some people have been screaming "lyric-based level generation."
That's tricky. I almost suspect that if I say that we can't do that, someone will mod the game so that it can.
What do you think about giving players an incentive to try many different genres, even slow music?
I'd like to make that inherent in the game -- someone who listens to Rihanna might grab Loreena Mckennitt's Mummers Dance and see a level completely foreign to him or her. So, we'd get a lot of "HEY, CHECK IT OUT! DEJOBAAN MADE DEVO COOL AGAIN!" As if Devo were ever not cool.
Now is a sneak peek at what's to come with Dejobaan's next challenge (while continuing with music integration): more patterns!
As promised, here is a demo of the new song, Future Shock. Jam to it while you work out or add it to your library and experiment with it in Kick It's Genome City. What are your thoughts on Dejobaan's empire? It is host to some of the greatest indie developer stories, video games, and songs ever reported/developed/composed! But that's just what we've heard. You be the judge!
Check out the FIRST Dev Diary here.
