Polytron’s long-awaited, pixel-infested, perception-twisting, puzzle-platformer Fez has been the talk of the town since its release on XBLA. Some commend it for its art, others for its personality, and while I agree with most of what the gaming community is saying about Phil Fish’s indie-baby, it’s the sound-design that really caught my attention.
The best part of the audio in Fez is not just its soundtrack, it’s the atmosphere. Melodic, crisp tones slowly filter down into muffled hums as Gomez steps indoors for exploration, implying the music is not simply layered over the game for effect but living and breathing in the pixels themselves. This effect drives player-emotion into every doorway you step into in the least obvious way.
It’s not often you see development teams paying enough attention to how soundtracks are implemented into the games they create. With the amount of obvious detail tuned into Fez, it should be no surprise to me that the sound-design would have received the same amount of love, but it is. Sound-design just isn’t that clever these days. It’s something that needs to be addressed.
To some this quick-read will seem silly, highlighting a tiny trinket of what makes Fez tick. The truth is, it had a huge effect on my love for this Phil Fish joint. Sure, the soundtrack to Fez is wonderful, but how it lives within the game makes it that much more so, and you probably don’t realize how it has had its way with you.
You know those dank, dark, empty rooms that Gomez often stumbles upon, only to rotate about in and leave there-after? How the eerie, airy, emptiness that drowns away the beautiful melodies makes the room feel cold and dark?
Tell me you don’t feel the pixelated sun-light when you step out of those boxes…
