Desperation at the Space Station

Made for the OST Composing Jam 2024 on itch.io, placing 28th out of over 600 entries.

Things haven´t been easy since dad left. Mom has not left the couch for what feels like months, excluding visits to the licquor store. Samantha, my sister, has been taking odd jobs to make ends meet. Even if the landlord is not kicking in our door, we are still stuck in the worst neighbourhood in town - maybe any town.

We have a VHS player. An old, broken down unit, but it works. I find myself watching dad´s old tapes. Tales of debauchery, adventure. Tales where you can make a better life for yourself. Every day, I pick a tape and forget my worries for just 90 minutes, our kitty rupert curling up next to me. This is my world, far from the troubles of the real one.

One day, it seems Rupert is not coming home from one of his strolls. Sam helps me looking for him, but she has to work. It has been three days since Rupert has come home. I put in the tape for Space Station Eta to forget my worries and, somehow, there he is. Rupert is in in the movie. I get close to the TV screen, feeling the gentle buzz of the tube TV´s electricity. Touching the screen to make sure I am not dreaming, suddenly I feel myself being pulled away...

Blockbuster is a unique take on a metroidvania and millenial nostalgia. Collecting VHS tapes, our hero can travel to different worlds represented by classic movie settings to save his cat Rupert. Items that he finds in one world may be useful in another, or even in the real world. Save Rupert and experience the magic of movies - in 4:3!

The soundtrack takes a needle drop approach. Urban sounding tunes for the real world, inspired by music trends from the nineties such as east coast rap and trip hop,clash with lush orchestral scores representing Cowboys, Outer Space or pirates.