Audiosurf
Encyclopedia
Audiosurf is a puzzle/rhythm
hybrid game created by Invisible Handlebar, a personal company created by Dylan Fitterer. Its track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music. The game was released on February 15, 2008 over Steam; the full version was for a long time only available for purchase through Steam, but was later released as a retail product in Europe, by Ascaron
. Audiosurf was the first third party game to use Valve's Steamworks technology. The Zune HD
version was also released as Audiosurf Tilt.
or F-Zero
. The player then maneuvers it down a colorful multi-lane highway, collecting blocks in a manner similar to Klax. The ship is controlled either by a mouse
, the arrow keys, the number keys, or a Gamepad
(Using XInput drivers such as the Xbox 360 controller
, not the older DirectInput
drivers). The game also supports the rumble feature of the Xbox 360 controller.
The music used in the game is chosen from the user's own library, from almost any DRM
-free format, as well as standard redbook
CDs; in addition, Audiosurf includes the entire soundtrack to The Orange Box
as part of the download. An "Audiosurf Radio" tab is also included on the "Song Select" screen that allows the user to play the Audiosurf Overture, as well as a shifting selection of songs by featured independent artists.
AC3 audio files require the installation of iTunes
, if last.fm
is installed songs can be scrobled to the last.fm server as a user plays each track.
There are also additional game modes in the game where the goal of the game changes. For example, in the "Mono" game mode, players must collect the blocks, regardless of their color, and avoid the grey blocks. If the player can avoid the grey blocks until the finish, a 30% bonus will be gained in addition to the sum of the points earned.
Upon completing the track, the score is uploaded to the score server together with the track length and form, any feats achieved, and the character used including the ironmode option if this was enabled. Scores are stored per song title, allowing people to compete. The uploaded length and track form make it possible to detect mislabelled or variant versions of songs in the score browser, and an option is provided to report possible fraudulent scores. There are three different high score lists for each song, for casual, pro, and elite characters respectively.
The player can choose between 14 different characters to play in the game. The characters are divided between three difficulty levels and each has its own unique ability. Each character has a unique icon, which is visible in the score browser.
An "Ironmode" option is also available during character selection, which makes the game more difficult by immediately ending the track (or end scoring) when any of the three columns are overfilled with blocks, instead of the normal penalty of subtracted points (for easy characters), with several seconds of "respawn" time where all blocks are ignored (for medium and hard characters). The layout of blocks is also changed when Ironmode is activated. Shoulder Lanes are removed in Ironmode.
Mono characters center around two colors of blocks: collecting colored blocks and avoiding grey ones. Mono Pro has the additional abilities of jumping and extending its fins to collect blocks outside its lane. Ninja Mono can also extend its fins, but must spend points to remove grey blocks from its board.
Pointman can pick up blocks from the road for later use. Pointman also features hint arrows and shoulder lanes on all three difficulties. Pointman Elite can pick up multiple blocks.
Double Vision mode has four lanes instead of the conventional three and two ships instead of one. The left ship occupies the left two lanes and is controlled by the keyboard while the right ship occupies the right two lanes and is controlled with the mouse.
Vegas can shuffle the board by moving into the shoulder lane for a few seconds. Eraser can remove blocks of a particular color from the board. Pusher can direct oncoming blocks to the lane immediately to the left or right of it.
With the exceptions of Mono, all characters use three colors of blocks on Easy, four on Normal, and five on Hard. Eraser and Pusher do not have Easy difficulty versions, while Vegas is only available on Normal.
. It is available to download for free from the Zune Marketplace. The gameplay is largely simplified, though it retains the same basic principles. There are no characters to choose from in this version, nor is there an ironmode. The game follows one basic formula, in which the player tries to collect all the blocks while dodging roadblocks (it can be played in "normal" and "turbo" speeds). In addition, there is a "Watch Lightshow" mode, in which the player does not collect blocks at all. Simply put, it is similar to a full screen display that matches up to music in many popular music player applications (Windows Media Player
, Xbox 360
, etc).
was the person behind the Original Soundtrack and Sound Effects Supervision on Audiosurf. The Audiosurf Overture was a track previously done by Pedro as the main demo track for a virtual synthesizer called Predator from Rob Papen.
The IGF awarded composer stated in his website that "This award would have never been possible to achieve if not coupled with such an amazing game by Dylan Fitterer."
, the title holds an average of 85 out of 100, suggesting favorable reviews. 1UP
awarded Audiosurf an "A" rating citing the massive replay value. IGN
gave the title an 9.0 out of 10, and stated that "[Audiosurf is] one of those games that offers something for everyone." Eurogamer were slightly less impressed, giving the game a 7 out of 10, criticizing its rough edges, yet remained convinced that the title had enough potential to become "a bite-sized obsession."
Music video game
A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs...
hybrid game created by Invisible Handlebar, a personal company created by Dylan Fitterer. Its track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music. The game was released on February 15, 2008 over Steam; the full version was for a long time only available for purchase through Steam, but was later released as a retail product in Europe, by Ascaron
Ascaron
Ascaron Entertainment was a video game developer based in Germany. Founded as Ascon and later renamed in October 1996 due to the possible confusion with the Swiss company Ascom AG, the company produced titles primarily for the PC until it was made insolvent in 2009.-Background and history:Ascaron...
. Audiosurf was the first third party game to use Valve's Steamworks technology. The Zune HD
Zune HD
The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010...
version was also released as Audiosurf Tilt.
Gameplay
In Audiosurf the player controls a levitating vehicle similar to those found in WipeoutWipeout (video game)
Wipeout is the first in a series of futuristic racing video games developed and published by Psygnosis. It was originally released in 1995 for Sony PlayStation and PCs running MS-DOS, and in 1996 for Sega Saturn...
or F-Zero
F-Zero
is a futuristic racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The game was released in Japan on November 21, 1990, in North America on August 23, 1991, and in Europe on June 4, 1992...
. The player then maneuvers it down a colorful multi-lane highway, collecting blocks in a manner similar to Klax. The ship is controlled either by a mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
, the arrow keys, the number keys, or a Gamepad
Gamepad
A gamepad , is a type of game controller held in two hands, where the digits are used to provide input. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left...
(Using XInput drivers such as the Xbox 360 controller
Xbox 360 Controller
The Xbox 360 Controller is the primary controller for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console and was introduced at E3 2005. The Xbox 360 controller comes in both wired and wireless versions. Original Xbox controllers are not compatible with the Xbox 360...
, not the older DirectInput
DirectInput
In computing, DirectInput is a Microsoft API for collecting input from a computer user, via input devices such as the mouse, keyboard, joystick or other game controllers. It also provides a system for action mapping, which allows the user to assign specific actions within a game to the buttons and...
drivers). The game also supports the rumble feature of the Xbox 360 controller.
The music used in the game is chosen from the user's own library, from almost any DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
-free format, as well as standard redbook
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
CDs; in addition, Audiosurf includes the entire soundtrack to The Orange Box
The Orange Box
The Orange Box is a video game compilation for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X and PlayStation 3. The Windows and Xbox 360 versions were produced and published by Valve Corporation and released on October 10, 2007 as a boxed retail copy...
as part of the download. An "Audiosurf Radio" tab is also included on the "Song Select" screen that allows the user to play the Audiosurf Overture, as well as a shifting selection of songs by featured independent artists.
AC3 audio files require the installation of iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, if last.fm
Last.fm
Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
is installed songs can be scrobled to the last.fm server as a user plays each track.
Scoring points
The goal of the game is to score points by collecting colored blocks (called 'cars') and forming clusters of 3 or more of the same color. The more blocks one accumulates in a cluster, the more points are scored. In the default color setting of the game, blocks which appear in hot colors such as red and yellow are worth more points, while cool colors such as blue and magenta are worth less. Players are also awarded bonus points at the end of each track based on feats they achieved. These include finishing the song with no blocks left in the grid or collecting all the blocks of a certain color. Each track for each difficulty level has three medals: bronze, silver, and gold. These are awarded upon reaching the point total required for them.There are also additional game modes in the game where the goal of the game changes. For example, in the "Mono" game mode, players must collect the blocks, regardless of their color, and avoid the grey blocks. If the player can avoid the grey blocks until the finish, a 30% bonus will be gained in addition to the sum of the points earned.
Upon completing the track, the score is uploaded to the score server together with the track length and form, any feats achieved, and the character used including the ironmode option if this was enabled. Scores are stored per song title, allowing people to compete. The uploaded length and track form make it possible to detect mislabelled or variant versions of songs in the score browser, and an option is provided to report possible fraudulent scores. There are three different high score lists for each song, for casual, pro, and elite characters respectively.
Environment
Audiosurf synchronizes the environment, traffic patterns and scenery with the events in the current song. Each music file imported to the game by the user is first analyzed by the game engine, and an ASH file (containing the dynamics of the sounds and how the track and blocks are arranged) associated to the music is created and saved (typically around 30 kilobytes). This helps speed up the loading time of future replays of the same sound file. The game loads the environment from the ASH files, with the track's elevation, surface and layout reflected in the dynamics of the music being played. For example, if a player were to choose to play a very soft and mellow song, the track would be uphill, very slow, relaxing and rich in cool colors. If a player were to choose a very intense and loud song, the track would be downhill, sped up, thick with traffic and lit up with hot colors.Characters
An "Ironmode" option is also available during character selection, which makes the game more difficult by immediately ending the track (or end scoring) when any of the three columns are overfilled with blocks, instead of the normal penalty of subtracted points (for easy characters), with several seconds of "respawn" time where all blocks are ignored (for medium and hard characters). The layout of blocks is also changed when Ironmode is activated. Shoulder Lanes are removed in Ironmode.
Pointman can pick up blocks from the road for later use. Pointman also features hint arrows and shoulder lanes on all three difficulties. Pointman Elite can pick up multiple blocks.
Double Vision mode has four lanes instead of the conventional three and two ships instead of one. The left ship occupies the left two lanes and is controlled by the keyboard while the right ship occupies the right two lanes and is controlled with the mouse.
Vegas can shuffle the board by moving into the shoulder lane for a few seconds. Eraser can remove blocks of a particular color from the board. Pusher can direct oncoming blocks to the lane immediately to the left or right of it.
With the exceptions of Mono, all characters use three colors of blocks on Easy, four on Normal, and five on Hard. Eraser and Pusher do not have Easy difficulty versions, while Vegas is only available on Normal.
Audiosurf Tilt
A portable version of the game called "Audiosurf Tilt" was released on November 11, 2009 for the Zune HDZune HD
The Zune HD is a portable media player in the Zune product family released on September 15, 2009 by Microsoft. It is a direct competitor with the Apple iPod and iPhone series of mobile devices. It was initially released in 16 and 32 GB capacities. A 64 GB version was released on April 9, 2010...
. It is available to download for free from the Zune Marketplace. The gameplay is largely simplified, though it retains the same basic principles. There are no characters to choose from in this version, nor is there an ironmode. The game follows one basic formula, in which the player tries to collect all the blocks while dodging roadblocks (it can be played in "normal" and "turbo" speeds). In addition, there is a "Watch Lightshow" mode, in which the player does not collect blocks at all. Simply put, it is similar to a full screen display that matches up to music in many popular music player applications (Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices...
, Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, etc).
Audio
Pedro CamachoPedro Camacho
Pedro Macedo Camacho, born September 4, 1979, in the city of Funchal, Portugal, is an award-winning film and video game composer.-Biography:Pedro Macedo Camacho started learning composition with Argentinean composer Roberto Pérez in his home city's Conservatoire and Arts School.After three years,...
was the person behind the Original Soundtrack and Sound Effects Supervision on Audiosurf. The Audiosurf Overture was a track previously done by Pedro as the main demo track for a virtual synthesizer called Predator from Rob Papen.
The IGF awarded composer stated in his website that "This award would have never been possible to achieve if not coupled with such an amazing game by Dylan Fitterer."
Reception
Audiosurf was positively received with the broad majority of critics. On MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the title holds an average of 85 out of 100, suggesting favorable reviews. 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
awarded Audiosurf an "A" rating citing the massive replay value. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the title an 9.0 out of 10, and stated that "[Audiosurf is] one of those games that offers something for everyone." Eurogamer were slightly less impressed, giving the game a 7 out of 10, criticizing its rough edges, yet remained convinced that the title had enough potential to become "a bite-sized obsession."
See also
- Phase
- StepManiaStepManiaStepMania is an open source and cross-platform rhythm video game and engine. It was originally developed as a simulator of Konami's arcade game series Dance Dance Revolution, and has since evolved into an extensible rhythm game engine capable of supporting a wide variety of rhythm-based game types...
- Guitar Hero series
- Rock Band
- RezRezRez, developed under the codename K-Project, Project Eden, and Vibes, is a rail shooter video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, with a European Dreamcast release and United States PlayStation 2 release in 2002...
- Vib Ribbon
- Frequency
- AmplitudeAmplitude (game)Amplitude is a 2003 PlayStation 2 musical video game. It was developed by Harmonix and is the sequel to the game Frequency.-Gameplay:In Amplitude, the player controls a ship moving down a path of varying shapes and lengths, containing up to six tracks...
- BeatsBeats (video game)Beats is a rhythm-based video game for the Sony PlayStation Portable handheld gaming system. It was released in 2007 at the PlayStation Store.-Description:...
- Music visualizationMusic visualizationMusic visualization, a feature found in electronic music visualizers and media player software, generates animated imagery based on a piece of music...
- DJ HeroDJ HeroDJ Hero is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the Guitar Hero franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe...
External links
- Official homepage
- AudioSurf forum
- Developer's blog
- Quest3D Website
- Original Soundtrack Composer Website
- Pedro Macedo Camacho's Popular Audiosurf Overture download page at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....