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Suggest pagesLSD (video game)
| LSD | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | OutSide Directors Company |
| Publisher(s) | Asmik Ace Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation, PSN |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Genre(s) | Miscellaneous |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | *CERO:D |
| Media/distribution | CD-ROM |
LSD is a video game released in Japan in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation video game console based on a dream journal that Hiroko Nishikawa, a staff member at Asmik Ace Entertainment, had been keeping for a decade. It is one of three products released about the journal (the others being a music CD, called Lucy in the Sky with Dynamites and the journal itself, published as Lovely Sweet Dream in limited quantity). The game has earned itself a small cult following due to the generally disturbing nature of the game and its content.
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
In LSD the player navigates through a psychedelic dream world. The idea is simply to walk around and enjoy things in a dream environment. There are many bizarre environments in this world, and one way to travel through them is by foot. However, if the player bumps into walls or other objects in the game, they will be transported to another environment instantaneously through a system called "linking". Bumping into people, animals, or special objects usually results in a stranger dream.
Each dream can last up to 10 minutes, after which the player will 'wake up', when the screen fades away and the player is sent back to the game's initial menu. However, if the player falls off a cliff or into a hole in the dream, then the player will wake up immediately. There is a graph that appears at the end of each dream that keeps track of the player's state of mind; the states are Upper, Downer, Static and Dynamic, as referring to the environments and the general feel of the dream the player just went through. Past states may have effects on later dreams.
While the player walks through an environment, the surroundings may suddenly change. For example, eyes may suddenly appear on the walls and stare at the player. Even if the player visits the same place twice, it may look quite different - sometimes, the textures of walls will change to subtly different versions or new items will appear for the player to encounter. One may also encounter strange creatures while roaming around, including a celestial nymph flying through the air, a wild horse running through the prairie, or a huge man filling up an entire room.
The game is set in a first-person environment. The player may use the LEFT and RIGHT directional buttons to look and change direction, the UP and DOWN buttons to initiate or reverse movement and the shoulder buttons to strafe left or right. The player may also hold the X button while moving to run, the SQUARE button to look down and the TRIANGLE button to look up.
The number of "days" are kept track of. As the player progresses, the pattern on walls and the form of the player may transmute. Occasionally the player may come across a man in a Grey trench coat and Hat, commonly referred to as the "Grey Man" or the "Shadow Man". He walks in one direction only. Getting too close to him will make the screen flash, the man disappear, and remove the ability to recall the dream in a Flashback.
After roughly 20 days of gameplay, a new option will appear in the main menu, called "Flashback". This mode lasts for only around 3 to 5 minutes versus the main game's 10. Flashback's purpose is to revisit locales and characters from past dreams. Due to the heavily random nature of the game, Flashback mode is often the only way to see an area with the same textures twice. Taking the same steps in Flashback as in the normal dream it is redoing will allow one to completely do over that dream.
[edit] Soundtrack
There are numerous patterns of background music in the game. These are called patterns, not tunes, because they all share the same musical score, but are played in different tones. Some of the music was made by Ken Ishii, a Japanese techno DJ and producer who also made a track for the game Rez.
The soundtrack to LSD was composed by Osamu Sato with collaboration from Ken Ishii who would later compose for the games Rez and Lumines II. It was released as a 2CD compilation in Japan by Music Mine, a Japanese techno record label on Oct 21, 1998. It contains music from the game as well as remixes from several notable musicians from the Warp Records roster such as IDM pioneer µ-Ziq (Mike Paradinas) and jazz musician Jimi Tenor.
[edit] LSD And Remixes
| LSD & Remixes | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Soundtrack |
Total length: 100:56
Disc 1:
1. Funky Solution
2. Long Tall Eyelash
3. TV River
4. Professional Problem
5. Oriental Grill
6. Come On And
7. Fax Factory
8. Fried Banana
9. Say Cheeze
Disc 2:
1. Long Tall Eyelash (Ken Ishii Mix)
2. Funky Solution (Jimi Tenor Mix)
3. Long Tall Eyelash (µ-Ziq)
4. TV River (Morgan Geist Mix)
5. Professional Problem (Pantune Music Mix)
6. Oriental Girll (M.P.O Mix)
7. Come On (Out Ass Mao Mix)
