Tag Archives: electronic

Bass Cadet 04 – Silpheed

It seems like an eon since last a Bass Cadet article was posted. Finally it’s time to rectify matters with an interesting addition. I gave away a few clues in my previous article, savvy retro heads should have figured it out long before this post went up.

Sierra On-Line were one of my fave game development houses back in the 80’s with their strong line-up of adventure titles. A noteworthy developer, particularly on the PC. They had a knack for quality games and amazing packaging with killer cover art. Probably the end result of, a genuinely inspired passion for what gaming, was truly all about.

However, Sierra were not just a developer but also a publisher that established ties with one of their counterparts in Japan. This was none other than the equally proficient – Game Arts. Famous for releasing hit games such as Thexder, Silpheed, Zeliard and later on the Lunar and Grandia series of rpg’s.

Game Arts started out developing for home computer platforms such as the MSX and NEC PC-8801. Both of which were hugely popular in Japan. Sierra On-Line ported and published Game Art’s earlier titles over to the west, with great success.

While Thexder remains a firm favourite of mine, and still enjoy to play it periodically. I have fond memories of Silpheed for a reason. This game came packed in with my very first sound card – Creative Labs’ Game Blaster. Finally I could enjoy arcade-quality FM tunes on my home PC and Silpheed would be my first foray.

I’ll be honest, Silpheed is not a particularly great game – it’s not terrible by any stretch either. Technically it’s impressive for it’s time, but rather bland. None the less, control is great and a space opera ambiance is conveyed rather competently. The music plays a big part in this, managing to cover cheerful, heroic and melancholic melodies. As the player, one does get a sense of partaking in an interstellar dog fighting scenario.

Silpheed’s BGM is composed by Hibiki Godai which just happens to be an alias. The real artist’s name is Kohei Ikeda for the sound team known as Mecano Associates. Above is the soundtrack of the original version of the game when it debuted on the NEC PC-8801 on the 5th of December, 1986.

Rediscovering The Sound Blaster

Over the weekend I decided to dig out my old Pentium PC from the storeroom, saving it from permanent obsolescence. Ridding the machine of dust and grime was tiresome and time-consuming. A task that I didn’t confidently believe would be fruitful, as I was unsure whether the various components in the system were in working order.

Slowly but surely I took the computer apart, inspecting the motherboard, power supply unit, cables, video and sound cards, modem, various drives and their relevant controllers etc. On the surface everything seemed fine, just slightly dusty. Thankfully, no nasty capacitor leakage was detected, a scourge on many older computers and other electronic equipment. Even the CMOS battery seemed healthy, but later on it became apparent that it was out of juice and required replacement.

SB16, soundblaster, 16, pro, AWE64, FM, synthsis, Yamaha, retrogaming — Sound Blaster AWE64 still sounds great today

Interestingly enough, with everything in bits and pieces was the opportunity for rediscoveries. Such being the case of the sound card. My trusty old workhorse didn’t just possess any pedestrian audio device…oh no! Instead it would be the Sound Blaster AWE64 from Creative Labs, truly a terrific card with impressive specifications for it’s time. However, it’s real draw is it’s FM Synthesis capabilities which just made me eager to fire it up urgently.

Carefully I attended to piecing together the machine before, finally powering it back on in years. Excited and at the same time worried of prospective faults. Fortunately my fears were soon alleviated, the hum from the power supply sounded as I remembered it. However there was a ‘CMOS Checksum error’ on start up, though that was due to battery depletion which was soon rectified. Apart from some wavy video output, which is somewhat attributed to electromagnetic interference from the power supply. I moved the graphics card to the furthest slot away from the PSU and image quality improved noticeably.

In all likelihood, there is probably a fault with the video card as I don’t recall encountering this issue before. Some shielding could help and am already looking into that. The good news is that everything else is in working order. Once I installed the drivers and tested the Sound Blaster, hearing the sounds generated from this card made all the difference. Finally, all my hard work in getting the Pentium up and running was validated. I now have an authentic and dedicated system which will gradually find it’s way in aiding in my game music compositions.

An awful lot can be said about the differences of working in an emulated environment versus actual hardware. Essentially convenience in contrast to veritable accuracy. One cannot discount the enormous cost factor and usefulness VSTi’s (virtual synthesizer plugins) bring to the table. For some, this may be the only feasible option available to them. And in many ways, music produced with the use of VSTi’s can sound just as good compared to hardware. Not forgetting to mention that, VSTi’s and even trackers have advanced tremendously in offering astoundingly accurate renditions.

Nonetheless, moments spent listening to the Sound Blaster in action is undeniable proof that hardware can trump software. There is an evident richness in the sound that doesn’t quite come through in emulation such as DOSBox or any other applications. Yamaha’s OPL2 & OPL3 FM sound chips were employed in the early range of Sound Blaster cards. Noble attempts at recreating the sounds emanating from these two chips have come close – but still nothing like the real thing.

NEC, PC88, 8801, retro, gaming, computers, japan, maestro, FM, synthesis, Yamaha — The choice PC of the first true FM maestros

It’s been awhile since I’ve last added a Bass Cadet post, and it’s about high time that I did. There’s a particular game soundtrack that I have in mind. I will only give away three clues to give you an idea on what is is. Here they are: Game Arts, Sierra On-Line & NEC PC-8801. Any retro game enthusiast should be able to figure this one out. Till next time 🙂

Cybermanga

Plenty of people have asked about my game project – what is it really about?

I’ve always let them know, that it’s a 2D shooting game set within a cyberpunk universe, with anime/manga influences.

Response has been mostly positive. After all, shooting stuff, cyberpunk worlds and big eyes with speed lines are things of great interest to game fans. Of course one could also add anime, manga and sci-fi enthusiasts in there too.

The beauty of anime and manga is the sheer amount steeped in cyberpunk lore. At a drop of a hat I can think of several titles: Akira, Angel Cop, Appleseed, Battle Angel Alita, Black Magic M-66, Bubblegum Crisis, Cyber City Oedo 808, Cybernetics Guardian, Dirty Pair, Genocyber, Ghost In the Shell, M.D. Geist, Megazone 23, Roujin Z, Serial Experiments Lain and Silent Möbius. And that’s just the short list.

cybercityodeo808 — In the future, everyone has great hair

I would recommend, anyone who has even a passing interest in cyberpunk, anime and manga to check out some of the above. If you’ve been playing video games for the past 20+ years, it should not surprise you how much of an influence these have been on your favourite medium.

It’s quite harrowing to pick just one or two titles that have had the biggest influence on me, personally. However, the Appleseed manga just clicked with me two decades ago when I picked up my first copy. Likewise, Akira and Cyber City Oedo 808 both had a profound impact, visually stunning masterpieces that they were and still are.

When I commenced with development of my game, I opted for a cyberpunk theme. Due to the fact that there weren’t too many traditional shooting games based in such a universe. Most tend to be space shooters, which is perfectly fine but didn’t inspire me much to follow suit. It’s not that the concept of a cyberpunk shooting game is terribly original but far less common.

Nevertheless, still a window of opportunity to indulge and create a cyberpunk world with interesting characters that fit the bill. This presented a challenge on how to best depict all this within the boundaries of a two dimensional, top-down viewpoint. How the rich tapestry of manga-infused hyperreality would be brought to life as a shooting game, regardless of confines.

Fortunately pixel art lends itself beautifully in helping formulate such a world within a retro game format. The tinny, metallic sound of FM synthesis provide the ideal, aural backdrop of a future make-believe dystopia. Cataclysmic electropunk, new wave, synthwave or industrial beats for ersatz cyborgs. All angles are covered.

Sticking feverishly to 80’s neon-noir and anime aesthetics. This was always meant to be a brightly coloured dystopia. The dour mood brought about by modern grey/brown first person shooters have no place in a 16-BIT Shock production. As cheesy and trite as this may sound – I wear shades because the future is bright.