Mike Oldfield's Online Game Makes Like A Maestro 21
Thanks to Terra Nova for pointing to information about Maestro, a game billed as 'Mike Oldfield's Virtual Reality Online Quest'. The title, created by the composer of the multi-million selling '70s album Tubular Bells, goes on to promise "a free form world offering a refreshing alternative to the typical, task-orientated 'in-your-face' computer game", although the gameplay seems somewhat less 'free form': "Your job is to find the Gravitars, bring them home to the mothership and put them in their pen." The demo is available from Mike Oldfield's website, and the full game is available next month for around UKP15 (USD28).
At last an Oldfield item? (Score:3, Informative)
Oldfield's been dabbling in "virtual worlds" for a few years now with his MVR (Music Virtual Reality) project. For the most part, it has been empty flat landscapes with a few objects scattered around.
What? (Score:1, Funny)
But the game has to be good!
*keeps waiting*
Oldfield's web site (Score:3, Interesting)
Played it... (Score:5, Insightful)
I suppose it's kind of a new way of looking at gaming, in that it can be simply a sensory experience, and not necessary something with set goals in mind.
Still, this game has nothing on Rez [gamegirladvance.com], the game with the Trance Vibrator.
Re:Played it... (Score:2, Insightful)
what is it even about? how come I can't control the music? it should speed up when I'm flying faster, or there should be some noises when I hit things and so on. it's a game signed by a musician for God's sake- make it musical. sheesh.
I'm definitly sticking to rez and frequency/amplitude (well I would if I still had my ps2
Songs of Distant Earth - previous game. (Score:4, Informative)
This was an enhanced CD that contained a similar "game of exploration" which ran only on the Mac.
Re:Songs of Distant Earth - previous game. (Score:2)
Songs of Distant Earth (Score:2)
To quote HR Giger (Score:4, Interesting)
'It is shit; they have made shit.'
I'm sorry, but am I missing the point here? You travel down badly modelled and attrociously textured drainpipes picking up tube bells. Each time you pick one up another 'tubular bell' icon dissapears off screen. Once they have all dissapeared, miraculously, NOTHING HAPPENS!
THIS GAME ROCKS: if you are into drainpipe exploration. If this had been my first project when I got AMOS basic for the Amiga I would have been disappointed with myself.
The best bit though is knowing how Mike Oldfield has been completelty ripped off by some programmer, as even if he was charged $10 for the work he was taken to the cleaners.
Re:To quote HR Giger (Score:2)
Don't knock drain games (Score:5, Funny)
Don't knock drainpipe-exploration games. Nintendo made a mint on the Mario Bros franchise
boring + boring = boring (Score:1)
Make that best composer (Score:2)
This could be awesome... (Score:4, Interesting)
The MusicVR experience has the feel of a dream or an abstract music video, where you wander through the space of the composer's imagination led by a vaguely game-like "find all of the keys" approach. This is a good idea, especially if the composer's imagination is both wild and executed with good music and matching visuals.
The reason Maestro sucks is that rendering looks like something a student hacked up for their very first graphics class.
The textures are hideous and have blatant seams. The control scheme leads you to face-plant against walls, completely disoriented. The reflections don't reflect the room around you-- or anything remotely like it (and boy, are there a lot of reflections). The lighting is crappy, with wierd per-vertex specular highlights stretched across giant polygons and not enough shading to be able to discern the shape of the giant caverns. Moving underwater is like walking down a corridor wall-papered by a 2-year old using stock photographs of fish. Finally, you can't really interact with anything in the demo.
I'd love to experience something that felt like Rendevouz with Rama-- exploration of a wierd, desolate, and alien space. Integral music and limited interaction would really enhance the experience. Maestro is not this program; it is a junk demo with a big name attached to the project.
-m
In other words (Score:2)
Re:tranquility? (Score:1)
So as a comparison Tranquility trounces it. Although to be honest I'm not a fan of Tranquility: perhaps the name and description on the site [tqworld.com] made me expect some trippy mindless departure from reality (like Rez maybe) but the game is actually very frustrating to play. Particularly during any level where you have to bounce
Ogg Vorbis (Score:4, Interesting)
The challenge is on! (Score:3, Funny)