This is Claypool's first game to set music too, though he's created themes for both South Park and Robot Chicken as well as a number of movies.

The idea to approach Claypool about scoring came from Kris Taylor, co-founder and art director of Red Fly Studio, and a huge fan of Claypool and his band, Gamecock's Mike Wilson told me. Billboard misreported that the impetus came from Ryan Mattson. Wilson said that Taylor built his own Claypool-style bass, which thoroughly impressed the musician during his visit to Austin in March.

For Claypool, a fanatic mushroom hunter who has a gaming son, the decision was an easy one.

"After seeing the design material and mock-ups online," he says, "I knew at once this was an opportunity to gain massive brownie points with my offspring, so thanks, 'Mushroom Men!'"

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is due out Nov. 11 and will feature lyrics and instruments for the game's four major themes. The DS game, Mushroom Men: The Rise of the Fungi, due out Oct. 14, may also have some of the music.

As a bit of cross-promotion, Gamecock is sponsoring Jam Cruise 7, with Claypool headlining in January, and Jan Cruise 7 is running a sweepstakes with the grand prize winner getting a custom Mushroom Men art bass guitar signed by Claypool.

Les Claypool Scores 'Mushroom Men' Video Games [Billboard]

Here are tons of new screens of both the Wii version, Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, and the DS version, Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi.

Gamecock also provided further info on the four different "nations" of mushroom creatures - put simply, there are two tribes of good guys, the Bolete and Morels, and two tribes of bad guys, the Amanitas and Lepiotas. Hey, wasn't "Amanita" a poisonous mushroom in Symphony of the Night? It must be a real, actual thing that exists outside of video games. Amazing!

Full details and new screens after the jump.

An ichorous green meteor plummets through the Earth's atmosphere, fracturing and showering the earth with glowing green space dust that affects all forms of life nearby. Some plant life — mushrooms and cacti — acquire sentience while, the meteor twists and mutates other life forms, transforming insects and animals into semi-intelligent, warlike communities.

Nations



There are four Mushroom Nations. Each of these Nations has its own unique body shapes, clothing and weapons. These nations can be simplified into two groups: the non-poison mushrooms Bolete and Morels (the Good Guys) and the poison mushrooms Amanitas and Lepiota (the Bad Guys).

Bolete Tribe



Boletes are dark brown and green. They are short and stout with primitive but powerful weapons. They are good melee fighters. As hunter/gatherers, they would prefer to live at peace with the land and their fellow Mushroom Men. They have a native/aboriginal-turned warrior theme. Pax, the main character of the Wii version, embodies the naïve view of the Boletes have of the world outside.

Morels



Morels are the intelligent elite of the Mushroom Men and look more sophisticated than the other nations. Their colouring tends be saturated and bright. Their weapons are technically advanced. They are controlled by logic and reason; though sometimes they let complexity get in the way of elegance.

Amanitas Empire



The Amanitas are extremely pale, almost white and are very thin and creepy looking. They tattoo rank insignia into their bright red caps as part of their military. Their war machine is extremely powerful. Their entire culture exists to support their dominating march across the face of the planet. Unlike the other Mushroom Men who piece together weapons and armour from discarded human refuse, the Amanitas manufacture their weapons and armour in advanced forges. Roman-style conquerors, they rule through force and fear.

The Lepiota Order



The Lepiota are a very pale greenish colour and tend to be a lot thicker in build and stature. Though they have poison spore powers, they mostly rely on their blunt melee weaponry and dark magic to enforce their aggressive push for dominance. Ruled by powerful necromancers, the Lepiota are extremely evil and vicious. Their religion focuses on old human technology. They build shrines in antique human hardware like old jukeboxes and mid-century automobiles ('57 Chevy and 70's era VW Bus). . Their drive for dominance shows in all facets of their culture. Only the elite have free will while others are all mentally enslaved.

Other Species



In addition to the Mushroom Men, several other plants and animals have been affected similarly by the comet. While initially neutral and independent, they eventually team up with one side or the other.

Los Cactos Mutantes



Stubby little spine-covered saguaro men roam the wastes. Cactos focus and use their spines in a fashion similar to the Mushroom Men's spores, launching aggressive ranged strikes and defensive barriers. By their very nature, Cactos automatically inflict damage when attacked, making enemies think twice before striking. They come in two varieties. Red, feral cacti are berserker beasts, incapable of reasonable communication or interaction. They operate in packs with a poorly-defined social structure. Green, intelligent cacti are the social equivalent of the Mushroom Men (and are therefore the ones who offer their allegiance to the Mushroom Men).

Kudzu



While they can operate as separate entities, Kudzu's true strength lies in their ability to merge and spread, consuming all in their path. Only vaguely humanoid, individual Kudzu Men are thick masses of sentient vines capable of locomotion. Due to their hearty regeneration rate, they recover from virtually any attack if given a few moments and some fresh soil/water. Early on, the Kudzu Men are very few and scattered, barely surviving the constant attack of the voracious herbivores in their region. Once the hero eliminates the herbivore threat, the Kudzu Men ally themselves with the Bolete and begin to spread, grow and expand. By the start of the Spore War, the Kudzu have regrown for a future encounter.

Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars for Wii & Mushroom Men – Rise of the Fungi for DS will be available across North America & Europe from October 2008. For more information about Mushroom Men please visit www.gamecockmedia.com. For more information about Red Fly Studio please visit www.redflystudio.com.

Mushroom Men Fact Sheet

Summary:
Mushroom Men inhabit the world that goes on while we humans are looking the other way, in the twilight hours when we sleep. We tower above them and go about our business completely unaware of the war waged at our feet.
After the comet had passed, the scientists concluded that the strange, green dust had no effect on the world. No one noticed that tiny plants and fungi were acting strangely. Mushrooms, cacti, flowers and vines had awakened to full consciousness. Tribes quickly formed, building plant and fungi nations and with nation building... came war!
Mushroom Men shows gamers the mundane world from the surreal perspective of a three inch high Mushroom Man. As a brave Bolete Mushroom, players can wreak havoc on their enemies by transforming common household trinkets and trash into weapons and tools.
Mushroom Men - Rise of the Fungi is for Nintendo DS and details events leading up to Mushroom Men - The Spore Wars on Wii. Players do not need to play one to enjoy the other.

Features:
- As a character the size of a mushroom, players will explore and battle their way through lush and spooky levels in a hostile and oversized world
- Choose from three different characters on DS or play the heroic misfit on Wii
- Fight hideous spiders, deadly praying mantises, lightning-fast scorpions, enemy Mushroom Men and more
- Wipe out your enemies with unique, spore-based powers

Product Specs:
- Genre: Action Platformer
- Created by: Red Fly Studio
- Publisher: Gamecock Media Group (www.gamecockmedia.com)
- Platforms: Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi - Nintendo DS; Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars - Nintendo Wii
- Release Date: DS: Summer 2008; Wii: Fall 2008

Earlier today Gamecock announced that their annual mini-con, EIEIO, was moving from California to Texas to coincide with South By Southwest. While the company only has only brought two titles to market so far, they have a ton in the wings. Here's how things official stand with their upcoming games, from Mushrooms to Insects:

Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball XBLA - Feb
Insecticide DS - 2/26
Insecticide Episodes 1 & 2 (Downloadable PC Episodic) - March and April
Hail to the Chimp - May
Mushroom Men:Rise of the Fungi DS - June
Legendary PC Next Gen Consoles - Summer
Mushroom Men:The Spore Wars Wii - Fall
Sabotage 360/PC - Fall
Dungeon Hero 360/PC - Spring 09
Section 8 Next Gen Console/PC - Summer 09

I'm as big a fan as anyone of endless press releases and PR stunts that feed us nibbles of actual, substantial news at a time. I love the milking of still to be seen franchises, but really, I'm starting to lose interest in Mushroom Men, but quick.

Red Fly and Gamecock have sent out endless announcements and proclamations about the Wii and DS title, but none of them have really said anything about the gameplay or shown us what the game will actually look like. This latest release isn't much better. Sure, they tell is that you can use the stylus for your DS as a rapier and the Wii Remote as a bazooka, but that's it... literally.

Oh wait, they did throw is three more bits of art, but still no graphics. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this Lucy. Brian Crecente

The Backyard Warriors of Mushroom Men™ Battle Foul Fungi In Fall 2008
Cockpit, Austin, Texas - May 30, 2007 - Today Gamecock Media Group has announced the fanatical fungi war of Red Fly Studio's Mushroom Men will take place on the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™. Mushroom Men utilizes all the unique control elements of both systems, allowing for amazing gameplay that draws players into an incredibly lush and treacherous stylized world.

"From the minute we signed Mushroom Men, we've worked to bring it to the Wii and DS," said Rick Stults, Console Chief for Gamecock Media Group. "Both platforms are going to give Mushroom Men a life of their own as Red Fly Studio is building unique stories specific to each system."
Mushroom Men gives players the opportunity to jump into the fantastic microcosm that is the backyard battlefield. Take control of the crusade, creating devastating weapons from everyday items and teaming up with other sentient plant forms that'll leave the enemy sliced and diced. Let the stylus be your rapier and the Wii Remote™ your bazooka as you cut down the multitude of household pests that threaten our very existence!

About Red Fly Studio
Located in downtown Austin, Texas, Red Fly Studio is a young studio founded by ten-year veterans of the gaming industry with experience on titles such as Star Wars Galaxies, BloodRayne, Nocturne, FIFA Football 2005, Anachronox, SSX3 and Deus Ex. Red Fly offers a creative environment where the projects are driven by the team, and not by a sole individual.
About Gamecock Media Group
Based in Austin, Texas, Gamecock Media Group offers a welcome solution to the bloated and originality-starved video game industry. A well-funded, independent, artist-driven company, Gamecock favors the most innovative and original video game developers in the industry. Publishing games for all platforms, Gamecock offers its developers a high degree of participation, freedom and financial incentives, allowing them to perform and create to their utmost ability. For more, please visit www.gamecockmedia.com.

Here's the run down:

Fury: Developed by Auran, Fury is a massively multiplayer "player vs. player" game for PC scheduled to be released for the 2007 holiday season.

Insecticide: Developed by Crackpot Entertainment, Insecticide is a stunning film noir action/adventure game set in a decaying world run by bugs. It will be available for the 2007 holiday season on handheld TBA and PC.

Mushroom Men: Developed by Red Fly Studios, Mushroom Men is an incredibly detailed stylized world where mushrooms have taken on human-like feature and are now embroiled in a civil war. This is slated for a spring 2008 release on a next-gen console and handheld, both TBA.

Hail to the Chimp: Developed by Wideload Games, Hail to the Chimp is an impossible-to-classify party game based on politics in the animal kingdom. The game is scheduled for release in spring 2008 for next-gen consoles TBA.

Hero: Developed by Firefly Studios, Hero is a brutal but comical romp through the "real" world of medieval dungeons. It will be coming to a next-gen console TBA and PC in holiday 2008.

Brian Crecente