Dylan Fitterer's Audiosurf—which joined Steam in February—has been on the receiving end of a batch of new features, the kind that makes your ten dollar purchase of the music riding racer that much more of a value and is the very definition of marketing via software version updates. Audiosurf has added new Last.fm support for "audioscrobbling", the ability to use the game as a music visualizer and mod support. A press release is pretty upbeat about the whole thing, but the list of new features should bring Audiosurfers back for another go.
Audiosurf FM Update Available Now!
May 5, 2008 - Dylan Fitterer has issued a massive new release of features for his runaway indie title,
Audiosurf. The release, simply called the FM Update, is now available free via Steam to owners of the
innovative and award-winning title that allows gamers to "ride their music."The FM update introduces a host of new features and content including last.fm audioscrobbling, the
ability to run Audiosurf as a music visualizer, scoreboard comments, and much more. Many of these new features were produced as a direct result of community requests and feedback.In addition, this update introduces a Mod interface for developers. The interface was made available
during its beta phase and several Audiosurf extensions are already available. These include Shuffle
Play, an MSN Messenger status writer, and a context menu that can launch Audiosurf directly into a song by right-clicking it in Windows Explorer. A full list of the Audiosurf extentions is available here: http://www.audio-surf.com/modsIn other Audiosurf news, Kyle Gabler (of 2D Boy and World of Goo) is making his musical debut on
Audiosurf Radio today. Techno music he produced years ago, before putting his efforts into incredible
indie games, is now available for the first time anywhere.Owners of Audiosurf will automatically receive the free FM Update by connecting to Steam, where
Audiosurf is offered for just $9.99, including The Orange Box Soundtrack.Audiosurf is a music-adapting puzzle racer where you use your own music to create your own experience. The shape, the speed, and the mood of each ride is determined by the song selected. Points are earned for clustering together blocks of the same color on the highway. The game also allows gamers to compete with others on the Internet for the highest score on any song they own.
The title was created by solo developer Dylan Fitterer, who came up with the design for Audiosurf after
six months of running BestGameEver.com, where Fitterer released a new game every Friday. Fitterer's
favorite design produced during this period was Tune Racer, which was iterated and evolved into
Audiosurf.For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com