IndieWatch: FRACT OSC

IndieWatch? Man I don’t know it’s Friday and this video is awesome.

As spotted by our resident indie expert Kristian ”AlmondBoruff” Boruff, FRACT OSC is a game that should appeal to any 80s kid that secretly pretended they were throwing TRON discs when playing Frisbee. The game’s angluar and minimalist art design perfectly echoes the synth that drives the whole game.

You can see in the early parts of the video that the game’s puzzles are keyed to synth music – a trick shared by games like Rez and Sound Shapes, though the game seems to hold a much more intellectual secret. As you play, the game silently masters you on music authoring tools, layering to such complexity that by the game’s conclusion, you’ve authored your own music pieces. The video even demonstrates this, showing how the interface enables you to record your own measures and then mix and match for bleepy bloopy goodness.

I have to say, I respect the game’s gumption. Sucker players in with Tron-inspired visuals and puzzle mechanics, then blindside them with music creation tools. Could this be the first of a dark wave of games that dares to teach us creative skills? Probably, and now you know about it, so let the grim future commence.

For some samples of the music this game will produce, and more general info about the game, head to http://fractgame.com/