Cool Interview: PS3 Flow

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"Nerve-Damage"

Regular
Interview with flOw composer Austin Wintory

FlOw's music is breathtaking and creates a deep, vivid atmosphere within the game. What was your design process in creating the music? It sounds and feels so simple on the surface, was this a purposeful design or did it just work out that way?

Well I’m glad to hear you say that, because elegant simplicity was definitely what I felt Jenova was creating, but musically it posed quite a challenge. We sought something atmospheric and electronic, but not in the stark, soundscape sort of way. Something warm and organic, as if a symphony of instruments never before played on Earth. That sounds horribly pretentious, but that was sort of our guide. What resulted was a combination of literally hundreds of small audio files being triggered by the player interactions, and a steady background track. My very first demo for the music is actually what stuck, but where we did lots of experimentation was in those small sounds. All sorts of different programming structures were played with, and so what you hear is the result of lots of trial and error.
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What emotions or aesthetics were your goals when composing the music for flOw? How did you want the player to feel when playing the game?

‘Relaxing’ was a word which came up a lot. But more than that we were really looking to create a whole world unto itself. The interface is so simple, as are the graphics, so we really wanted a musically simple world to accompany it. I created hundreds of sounds and modified my existing sound libraries to no end, but tried to be as subtle about it as possible. As you progress deeper into the game it gets darker. For the PS3 version it’s somewhat of a different story. Relaxing was paramount, but each campaign of the game has a very different take on it. Some are more oriented towards being fun and light, others darker, some mysterious, etc.
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One of the most innovative casual games of 2006, flOw, is breathtaking both as a game and as a work of art.
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sorry, but what is all the fuzz about that game? it's nice and all.. for a flashgame.. for some minutes.. but i don't get why it's that huge next big wonder that changes everything?!

it's not breathtaking, not as a game, nor as art. it's a nice flashgame, and thats it. i smell hype..
 
davepermen said:
okay.. but not really _that_ much different. i don't say it's not nice. i just don't get the huge hype.
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What *huge* hype?

This game is an original game, and as such it deserves to get a lot of attention, imho.
 
davepermen said:
sorry, but what is all the fuzz about that game? it's nice and all.. for a flashgame.. for some minutes.. but i don't get why it's that huge next big wonder that changes everything?!

it's not breathtaking, not as a game, nor as art. it's a nice flashgame, and thats it. i smell hype..
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I think you should give this game more credits ... or at least a chance. Games have become more complex and better looking but they have also become less intuitive and too generic. This game uses a very different philosophy.
It's nice to see how some people try to get back to the basic and create a consumerfriendly game without tearing issues, framedrops or horrible loading times.
Geometry wars evolved is the most addictive game I've played in a long while and if flow isn't too expensive I'm willing to give it a try.
 
davepermen said:
okay.. but not really _that_ much different. i don't say it's not nice. i just don't get the huge hype.
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yeah same here, whilst im not a gameplayer im still able to tell if a game is worthy of its hype + this was a major letdown + IMO not that original as well ( same goes with that cloud game made by the same guys i believe, then again a lot of hyped 'original' game when i play arent really that original )
 
I played the flash version and I thought it ewas fun an dnifty.

If the finished PS3 version adds more to that same concept then that's even cooler I suppose. Though if cinnamon on pudding is nice doesn't mean cinnamon on steak would be a great idea also so maybe adding to a simple concept could screw it up I don't know.

I'd have to try it first to know for sure. :cool:

Peace.
 
It's a nice and dandy game and will be for ps3, too (except, as stated, if they mess up)

btw, everyone can play it right here: http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/flowing/

it's just that, nice and dandy.

but everywhere where i read those interviews and all it's stated sort of as the holy grail that changes gaming for ever and all that blabla, and using the ps3 tech to make it real and blabla.

i don't get THAT. it's a nice little game to have some fun for some time, and it's something different. yes. and thats it. there are tons of other games that are different that are much less "the wow thing" but much more simply fun.

i played it once, and for me, that was it. no replay value at all.
 
Wow it says 4 people can play together. I guess that must mean split screen. I never heard of a multi player component to this before.
 
There is a FlOw Review on kotaku up now.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/fl0w/fl0w-ps3-review-237865.php

While I'm a bit disappointed that the game only took two hours to "beat" I recognize that the game really isn't something you play through and put down. It's more like a toy. Sure it has objectives and a way to succeed and fail, but fl0w is mostly about the trip not the destination.

fl0w is most certainly going to be one of those mega hits for the PS3.
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davepermen said:
sorry, but what is all the fuzz about that game? it's nice and all.. for a flashgame.. for some minutes.. but i don't get why it's that huge next big wonder that changes everything?!

it's not breathtaking, not as a game, nor as art. it's a nice flashgame, and thats it. i smell hype..
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Totally agreed, this is the most overhyped game I've seen in a longtime. It's a cool little game, but that's it, nothing to get too excited about.

I really don't get all the hype.
 
scooby_dooby said:
Totally agreed, this is the most overhyped game I've seen in a longtime. It's a cool little game, but that's it, nothing to get too excited about.

I really don't get all the hype.
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It was supposed to be PS3's geometry wars. Not strictly copying gameplay mechanics, but being a little simple and addictive game that everybody loves. At least I got that impression.
 
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