Osmos

Osmos
The goal of most levels is to absorb enough motes to become the largest on the level.
Developer(s)	Hemisphere Games
Publisher(s)	Hemisphere Games
Platform(s)	PC: Linux Mac OS X Microsoft Windows Mobile: iOS
Release date(s)	17 August 2009
Genre(s)	Puzzle
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	Download

Osmos is a puzzle video game developed by Canadian developer Hemisphere Games for different systems as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The game was made available on Steam on 17 August 2009.^[1] The Android port was also hinted to be in development. ^[2]

Gameplay

The aim of the game is to propel oneself, a single-celled organism (Mote), into other smaller motes to absorb them. Colliding with a mote larger than self will result in being absorbed, resulting in a game over. Changing course is done by expelling mass. Due to conservation of momentum, this results in the player's mote moving away from the expelled mass, but also in one's own mote shrinking.

There are three different "zones" of levels in Osmos: In the sentient levels, the goal is to prevail over active motes of various types that hunt and absorb other motes, including the player. Hunting them typically involves absorbing as many inactive motes as possible before chasing down the active ones with the extra mass one has gained.

In the ambient levels, the player's mote typically floats in a large area surrounded by inactive motes, and must become the largest or simply very large. Variations on this theme involve, for instance, starting the game as a very small mote surrounded by lots of larger, fast moving motes, or the presence of "antimatter" motes which shrink normal motes during collision no matter which one was originally bigger, or starting the game stuck in a huge, densely packed area with a large number of other motes without much space to move about and having to nudge other motes out of the way by ejecting mass at them.

In the force levels, special motes (Attractors) influence other motes with a force similar to gravitation. The player has to take into account orbital physics when planning movement in order to save mass when changing course. In these levels, the game optionally assists the player with a course trajectory tool that plots the mote's course, up to a short time in the future. Force levels are complicated in various ways, including levels with mutually repelling attractors, attractors bouncing randomly around an area full of motes, several "strata" of bodies in retrograde rotation about an attractor, and attractors orbiting other attractors.

Games for Windows Live Dummy Achievement

The Games for Windows Live version of Osmos has 11 achievements, for a total score of 200 Gamerpoints. However, Games for Windows Live shows the game as having a 12th achievement worth no gamer-points at all (0G). The developer of Osmos, Hemisphere Games, is aware of the issue, and may add more achievements to the game later in a title update, thus fixing the 'Dummy Achievement' glitch.^[3]

Reception

Osmos received generally favorable reviews with a metascore of 80 on Metacritic based on 22 critic reviews.^[4]

Apple Inc. selected Osmos as the iPad game of the year for 2010.^[5] It also won many other awards for the year.^[6]

IGN awarded Osmos its best video game soundtrack of 2010.^[7]

Soundtrack

The award winning^[7] soundtrack includes:^[8]

1. Vincent et Tristan – Osmos Theme
2. Gas 0095 – Discovery
3. Biosphere - "Antennaria" (from Substrata)
4. Loscil – Lucy Dub
5. Loscil – Roschach
6. Loscil – Sickbay
7. High Skies – The Shape of Things to Come
8. Julien Neto – From Cover to Cover
9. Julien Neto – Farewell

A free download of many of the tracks was made available in March 2010.^[9]

References

1. ^ "News - All News". Store.steampowered.com. http://store.steampowered.com/news/?appids=29180. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
2. ^ Usher, Anthony (2 September 2011). "iOS indie hit Osmos set to propel itself onto Android". Pocket Gamer. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Osmos/news.asp?c=33041. Retrieved 23 October 2011. 
3. ^ "Hemisphere Games FAQ –". Hemispheregames.com. http://www.hemispheregames.com/faq/#gfwl_12. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
4. ^ "Osmos for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/osmos. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
5. ^ Dec 11th, 2010 by eddybox. (2010-12-11). "Hemisphere Games Apple’s iPad Game of the Year! –". Hemispheregames.com. http://www.hemispheregames.com/2010/12/11/apples-ipad-game-of-the-year/. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
6. ^ Jan 20th, 2011 by eddybox. (2011-01-20). "Hemisphere Games End-of-Year Awards & Voting –". Hemispheregames.com. http://www.hemispheregames.com/2011/01/20/end-of-year-awards-voting/. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Best Soundtrack 2010 - Osmos - Mobile - IGN". Bestof.ign.com. http://bestof.ign.com/2010/mobile/best-soundtrack.html. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
8. ^ "Osmos for iPad (2010) Related Sites". MobyGames. 2011-04-28. http://www.mobygames.com/game/osmos/links. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
9. ^ "Exclusive Free Soundtrack: Osmos, Featuring Gas, Julien Neto, Loscil, High Skies". Createdigitalmusic.com. 2010-03-01. http://createdigitalmusic.com/2010/03/exclusive-free-soundtrack-osmos-featuring-gas-julien-neto-loscil-high-skies/. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 

External links

• Official site
• Osmos at Games for Windows Marketplace
• Osmos at Steam
• Osmos at Impulse
• Osmos at Game Rankings
• Interview with Dave Burke
• Osmos soundtrack
• interview with the creators at Create Digital Music