The creative director of Sea of Stars discusses creating physical game releases and our need for the tactile.

I've unintentionally joined the group of folks who collect large, heavy vinyl soundtracks throughout the last year or two. In this primarily digital age, albums are having a renaissance, and when I first bought a couple, I just intended to display them on a blank wall in my bedroom. Nevertheless, at some point during the journey, I found myself listening to the Silent Hill 4 soundtrack on a record player. I get this eerie, pinky-out vibe from it.

I don't have a technical explanation, however. My knowledge of vinyl records is limited to what I think sounds good or poor, and I don't possess any albums that would be worth the hype or enough money to pay my retirement. The ungainly discs are simply fun to hold, and I particularly enjoy the ones that have a retro splatter painting vibe about them. I like blowing out the dust, looking at the sleeves, and utilizing a medium that society had long since moved on from by the time I was born.

It seems that many game developers also feel the same way. Thierry Boulanger, the creative director of Sea of Stars and president of Sabotage Studio, prompted me to talk about what motivates us to go back to those little rituals with older media. Boulanger gave Ontario Online Casino an insight into the studio's workings during the interview. It examines how to create something that is both modern and timeless, preserve consistency across media, and determine how to include Yasunori Mitsuda into all of this.

Regarding the choice to release the retail and vinyl soundtrack for Sea of Stars, Boulanger said, "It was a must from the beginning." In the same nostalgic spirit, the company launched its first game, The Messenger,, back in 2018. They were already acquainted with the process of producing something concrete, and according to Boulanger, it was always intended for Sea of Stars.

"We want every action we do to be intentional. Not all we want to do is move plastic. The units don't really matter that much. The reason is because we create items that people want to handle, own, and be able to hold onto. More than the intangible, digital aspect of things, they want technology to be a part of their life.

For many aficionados, the holding and touching are all integral parts of the vintage experience. Most of the time, it's just a well-meaning yearning for bygone eras or for something cozy and comfortable. For me, it typically comes down to a mix of nostalgia for old movies and a general need for something a bit easier to handle. Nevertheless, in spite of my nostalgia, working within the constraints of the past is not automatically commendable, nor is the process inherently simpler. The Sea of Stars

understands that, as I made clear in my review, but eliminating the superfluous doesn't mean that traditional RPG ideas can't be updated to reflect contemporary views. But when you switch between media, such as going from an infinite digital library to the more constrained plastic disks, the constraints remain.The 2xLP compilation that represents Sabotage's Iam8bit vinyl collaboration does not include the full 200-song tracklist from Sea of Stars. Rather, it must function as a sample indicative of the greatest tracks from the OST, encapsulating in a selected fashion the work of composer Eric Brown and his renowned partner Yasunori Mitsuda of the Chrono Trigger and Xeno-series. There are already a ton of sick songs created in a constrained format; they would have to be eliminated once again for the vinyl.

"When it comes to capturing retro, we like to work within the constraints because we kind of aim for the kind of experience or things that come out of really harsh boundaries," Boulanger said.Thus, the longest length for a track to loop is two minutes. There should be a hook in each of the three parts, you know? This long, drawn-out introduction cannot be placed into a continuous symphonic piece. Thus, it's more of a classic soundtrack than a score in that instance. However, we are able to record as many songs as we choose since we are not limited by the memory of a cartridge.This meant that every significant sequence in Sea of Stars could have "bespoke audio," which is how the game got its astounding 200 songs. Since many of the games that served as inspiration for the RPG didn't usually have this configuration, the vinyl would get finicky."As soon as we got started, we said, 'Okay, so we're doing 2xLP, right? Because of how famous this partnership is, we will reserve one side for Mitsuda. When Boulanger talks about the process, he chuckles, but getting Mitsuda's 12 songs on the actual album required strict curating, which is why those tunes were kept off the remainder of the soundtrack.Boulanger and Brown then set out to create something that might be integrated into anything outside of the bigger, digital collection by sampling some of its most recognizable elements. The town and war themes were essential, but Brown was mostly kept out of the curating process to make sure the round-up was fair and representative."Eric also carefully considered the listening experience, making an effort to arrange the timing of each element. You want all the big hits, of course, but you also want to sometimes take a little vacation. Because you're sort of unlimited when working with digital, it was definitely somewhat of a process, even though it flows pretty well in our opinion. You are free to work as much as you choose.

This kind of brings the question back to the present: "But what if you distill your idea?" It coerces you and adopts the attitude, "What's the nugget?" What is the condensed form of it that has crystallized? Even though it was challenging, the trip to do it was a lot of fun.

Purposefully moving

I explain, a little annoyed, my own sudden passion for vinyl. To be honest, I'm a little ashamed of how nostalgic I am over just stuff. I already have an uncontrollably large collection of old-fashioned cartridges, CDs, and guides taking up limited shelf and closet space. However, there is solace in gripping something, deliberately taking out the cartridge, or physically hitting the reset button. It forces me to hold onto a ton of N64 games.Boulanger's passion for that experience, if anything, provides a nicer glimpse into the sort of individual who accumulates a collection of CDs in order to unlock animals in a PlayStation game that is decades old."There is a dedication to present-moment living and this knowledge. When you're listening to a Spotify playlist or something similar on your Bluetooth speaker, you may rewind back ten seconds to continue experiencing the dopamine rush of your favorite music, or you can go on to the next song if you're not feeling completely engrossed in the current one.On the other hand, having vinyl seems almost like having a presence. It is more than simply something you eat. I feel like your body recognizes that you are dedicating time to listen to music more attentively simply by the steps you have to do to get it to even start playing.He views this process as being nearly meditative, or at least having origins in the deliberate, grounded procedures seen in creating tangible media. The filmmaker often shares tales of his childhood nostalgia, which inspired the development of video games like Sea of Stars, but he also seems to be driven by smaller details. "A vinyl means that, in my opinion, that I will really sit down and listen to music. I want to totally listen to music this afternoon, so that's what I'm doing, not on the side.

Even though I grew up with CDs, I still get really homesick for the tangible aspect of listening to records. Pulling out the Silent Hill 4 vinyl and listening to 'Room of Angel' on a device far larger than my phone is undoubtedly more laborious, but I find that it helps me brood. I have greater feeling.In the end, I understand that there's always a more critical view of my impulse to purchase additional bits of plastic to stack on a shelf or buy another SNES game at a pawn shop. Although I don't really need every piece of physical material I possess, there is value in the deliberate, involved manner that an old concert or vinyl setup forces me to deal with it. It's undoubtedly a commitment, as Boulanger said, and I value the odd game or record that makes me slow down in this attention economy where concentration is a daily battle.The retail version of Sea of Stars is now available globally on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X. In Q2, 2024, the limited edition will be released, with a digital game music, poster, vintage game manual, and more goodies. Pre-orders for the 2xLP vinyl soundtrack are being accepted, with a release date of Q3 2024. The record comes with a digital download voucher that includes the whole soundtrack.