With today’s work on Soulcaster mostly being behind-the-scenes stuff involving the new slotting equipment/inventory system, I figured I didn’t have much to say on that topic today. I decided to poll my Twitter list for topic ideas, and got several I could answer lightning-round style. Here goes.
On my own games, I get to pick whatever style I want, and have final approval. This does not necessarily make things any easier. Lack of constraints can be paralyzing for me, so I usually set up some artificial constraints before starting the score. On all four of my games so far, I’ve gone for something of a 90’s era redbook audio vibe. Soulcaster used Lagoon (SNES) as its main inspiration, Soulcaster II used Labyrinth (the movie), Escape Goat used Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, and Escape Goat 2 drew a bit from Bayonetta. All of the instrument sets were restricted to software versions of hardware that was available in the 80’s and 90’s.
Music direction is picking which songs the game needs. How long they are, how they’re used in the game, and what style/mood they will have. The goal is to set up the soundtrack to influence the mood of the game.
For example, in Escape Goat, I wanted the game to have a serious tone to counterbalance the game’s title, so I picked a lot of darker stuff as reference songs.
If you don’t know where to start, try this:
The Fake Playlist Method
Brainstorm and make a list of a dozen songs that might work well with your game. Pick a variety of tempos, moods and genres.
Collect mp3’s of these songs (if you can find them on YouTube, you can get the mp3… Google it)
Make a playlist in iTunes or Windows Media Player
Play your game while the playlist is playing. Skip around from song to song, and notice how each song affects each scene.
That’s it! You’ll have a short list of tracks that work well, and you can probably describe in a few words what makes them work.
Here’s a video that demonstrates this process:
I’ve used this technique dozens of times when scoring games. When it comes to tracking music production, I love spreadsheets. All you need are these columns: Cue name, Target Length, Actual Length, Reference, Notes (for reworks–which should be minimized with this practice).
It’s official: Indie Royale has added some music content to bundle purchasers, including six never-before-heard Soulcaster remixes done by some talented friends of mine.
Back when we were setting up the bundle, the Royale crew asked about adding the Soulcaster OST’s to the bundle as bonus content. I was fine with that, but knowing that they’re available for “name your price” on Bandcamp, I wanted to provide something special and exclusive for the bundle.
My concept: a remix album. The only problem was that I didn’t have any time to work on it. So I put the word out to some composer buddies, to see if there was anyone willing to do a track in just a few days. I thought maybe one or two people would have time, but no… here are the six songs I got back. Unreal!
Here are some bios on the contributors. In the spirit of Valentine’s day I’ve tried to add my personal touch to them. (I’m listening to the To The Moon soundtrack right now, so if this starts getting really sentimental, just bear with me.)
James is a long-time friend with origins going back to the Video Games Lounge on AOL. He’s currently working as a sound designer & “occasional composer” at Treyarch, where he recently wrote some incidental music for Black Ops, including most of the BGM for Dead Ops Arcade.
Kyle and I met through the Game Audio Network Guild back in 2005, when we first collaborated on some contract gigs for GBA and NDS audio. Since then we’ve become close friends, and I’ve known him through his tenure at Neversoft, where he did all kinds of stuff for the Guitar Hero franchise, notably (ha!) track design. He’s an all-terrain music guru with sharp composing skills, who just so happens to shred at the guitar. His latest project is a deep ambient collaboration with Tom Owen, We Spies.
3. Surasshu – All Souls Alliance (10,000% Remix) 04:35
Steven and I also met through the G.A.N.G. back in 2005, and he proved a valuable ally on the many game soundtracks we did. It’s rare to find someone who can cope with the limitations of Gameboy Advance and DS, but Steven just happens to be a master of authentic 8-bit and chiptune styles. Just don’t think he’s pigeonholed into that style though, because I’ve found him one of the more versatile composers I’ve worked with. His most recent endeavor is yogurtbox – Tree of Knowledge, what I can only describe as the soundtrack to a make-believe Japanese dating sim.
How do I write a bio on virt? Everyone knows virt! Jake and I started doing game audio around the same time, about a decade ago, and in that time he has gone from mere mortal to unstoppable demigod. I could name drop (Bloodrayne: Betrayal and Retro City Rampage), but what I want to say most is that he came through for me on this face-crushing dubstep remix with zero advance notice from me. I think he went without sleep to help me promote Soulcaster’s PC debut and that just says a lot about the man’s character.
5. DJ Bouche – Soulcaster II (Northern Lights Remix) 02:23
Andrew Lim (a.k.a. DJ Bouche) is a contact I made through this remix album, actually, when I asked Steven to see if he knew anyone interested in doing a track. Steven came through with DJ Bouche. He’s a remix, trance, soundtrack and chiptune virtuoso, who according to his Soundcloud profile, is looking for a break into the industry. Listen to the track, and listen to his Soundcloud reel… the man is ready.
Hubert Lamontagne (a.k.a. madbrain) is another Surasshu comnection. He’s a mysterious fellow without much web presence, flying under the radar for now, no doubt waiting for the right time to make his move. In addition to music composition skills, he’s got some programming ability and is making a digital synthesizer based on physical modeling of wind instruments.
James and I first got in contact just a few months ago, when he dropped me a message about Escape Goat. He’s a fellow jack-of-all-trades game developer, currently working on a master’s in statistical analysis of compiler optimization (OK, so he’s a few notches above me in the coding department). When he’s not distracted by academics, he’s working on his next indie title, yet to be announced but looking very cool so far.
As of now, the only way to get these awesome tracks is to buy the bundle… your contributions will be put to good use, trust me! Help us shatter some records, and get some great games and music in the process.
