Christmas Game: Santa's Landing

As an aside from our air traffic control games, here are some interesting Christmas Eve stats for our game Santa's Landing.  Santa's Landing has never been one of our strong performers, but it was certainly fun to make, and I feel proud of it at Christmas.  I find it very interesting how each Christmas Eve this game rises from obscurity and comes to life.  You may have read my earlier blog about this game.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone, from us at Big Fat Simulations!

Tornado Destroys Airport

Here is a clip of an emergency that occurs in Airport Madness 3. A tornado destroys a runway, a terminal building, and three jetliners.  Airport Madness 3 can be purchased here.

Music in Air Traffic Control Games

I've received a number of emails from air traffic control game fans who really enjoy the musical piece from Airport Madness 3.  I myself love this piece, although after testing and playing the game nearly one thousand times, I've begun using the game's mute feature.  In fact, muting is something that many game players do.  Some prefer to listen to music of their own, while others want no distraction during game play.

When you develop a game, there are several ways to obtain music.  If you are on a budget, there is royalty-free music everywhere, made by musicians trying to make a name for themselves.  Some ask that their name be mentioned in the game credits.  Others simply give it away.  In my experience however, you get what you pay for.  The truly decent music costs money, typically between $10 and $100 for a decent 45-second music loop.

Last April I went in search of music for Airport Madness 3 and immediately stumbled upon a piece from the air traffic control movie, "Pushing Tin".  Although the movie left something to be desired, the opening intro scene was fantastic.  Anne Dudley's "He Pushes Tin" sounds absolutely incredible when played with the sounds of jet aircraft arriving and departing.  I would have used this song for AM3 if it were not for the excessive cost.  I instead had a piece created specifically for AM3, with similar energy, that compliments the game nicely.

As we plan our future projects, music will likely exist only during the game intro, with perhaps only a quiet musical background beat during game play.