Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is an RPG game, but unlike the familiar dungeon crawlers, this game is set in the real world of music. Players create their dream band and attempt to coast their way to the top of the music world before the next young hot act comes along.Here are the contest winners:
Pop Genre
- Extra Stuff - Artist: John Anaya, Writer: John Anaya
- Heart V Head - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
- Nothing at All - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
- Hands of Time - Artist: Tumbledown, Writer: Alan Collins
- Pieces of You - Artist: The Dirt, Writer: Jason Kleiss
(The last two had vote totals so close together, and with every single song being excellent, the decision was made to simply include both on the Shady O' Grady's Rising Star soundtrack.)
Blues Genre
- South from Detroit City - Artist:The Pete 'Big Dog' Fetters Band, Writer: Pete Fetters
- Big Dog Boogie - Artist: The Pete 'Big Dog' Fetters Band, Writer: Pete Fetters
- Blues Playin' Man - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
- It Ain't Love - Artist: The Mat Edwards Band, Writer: Mat Edwards
The "Are you a Rising Star?" contest was run by Shrapnel Games as a means to give unknown musical talent another venue for their music, exposing it to a brand new segment of listeners. Contest winners would be included in the upcoming musical RPG, Shady O' Grady's Rising Star. With the rock and metal genres already filled to the brim even before the contest, the search was on for other acts to pad out the other eight genres. Ultimately the contest came down to the tough decision of choosing the songs for the pop and blues genre, as the other genres ended up being a slightly easier sell.
Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is primed for a November release through Shrapnel Games. Developed by Gilligames (developer of Space HoRSE, the reimagining of the classic EA game for the Atari computer system, M.U.L.E.), Shady O' Grady's Rising Star is a single-player role-playing game for Windows. Unlike the familiar computer RPG staples of dungeon crawling, evil wizards, and nefarious midget flame-wielding mushroom-eating driders, this game is set in the real world of music. Players create their dream band and attempt to coast their way to the top of the music world before the next young hot act comes along.
As in real life gamers will have to make a myriad of decisions that will affect how their band does. Group harmony, the right equipment, great songs, and more will all play a role in how quickly your ascension to stardom occurs, if it occurs at all. Being an open- ended RPG, replayability is high and so is the customizability. Most aspects of the game are open for modding, allowing those with some creativity and time to remake the game to suit their personal tastes. Want to recreate your local music scene? Go for it.
Shady O' Grady's Rising Star will sell for $39.95 when released, and will be available from the Shrapnel Games e-store, the Gamers Front.
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