Game 2: Facet Final

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Brief: Short Generic level music with respect to the tone of the game and setting. The game has a track list of music already, in the "upbeat synthwave / cyberpunkish" genre to match with the abstract theme. Although, I am not versed in music theory so I'm not sure if I should be doing that; but it is the choice I've made so far. It currently has 25 tracks, and I intend to add many more.

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While wrapping up my composition for the "Aseum" pre-alpha game, I had received an email inquiring about my services as a composer. I had left my email address in the comment sections of projects I had found on itch.io, a popular small games distribution platform. I received an email from a client who had begun forming a community around the creation of his games and had begun development for his next project, "Facet Final". 

 

The game is a top down systems action roleplaying game (an SARPG), featuring an abstract theme, in the sense that all of the characters are amorphous non-biological geometric shapes, and the environment is said to be of the same design. The developer mentioned that from a creative perspective, the music and art can therefore be unrestrictive in nature and in reflection of the theme, abstract and futuristic. 

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The creator also mentioned his community support for the project with game testers and a list of 25 tracks compiled by other composers, as well as copyright-free music. My realisation of the potential that could come from the community engagement would create a source of ambition for me to reach a substantial level of differentiation for my song to stand out from the rest of the soundtrack, as well as a small potential gain in my notoriety within the game developer community due to the server the client had created being populated with members who develop games as a living, something I discovered after conversing with individuals in the server.  

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After having made sure the game developer for "Aseum" was content with my submission, I began considering the style of similar games. One game, Gemoetry Dash,

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I began composing by using a piece of analog hardware I had found while researching new products being developed on Kickstarter. A source of inspiration when searching for new musical instruments or synthesizers being developed which I could then use by sampling and composing around my discoveries. In this case I had found the HiChord synthesizer, a modular chord synthesizer which creates a range of chords based off an inputed key, with a multi-functional joystick with functions varying from note bending to transition. In the sample below, the creator used the joystick to input a transposed bass key during the moments the joystick Is pushed down and a key is played.

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Hi.Chord Instagram reel demonstrating product

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This sample was my basis for the track as it had an energetic but lazy timbre, with the synth-wave pattern being quite sharp but with the smoothness of the joystick being able to hop between the transposed chord and the original input one.

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I then examined the current track list a bit closer and observed that the average bpm was around 160-200 bpm with some tracks even delving into breakbeat, a genre classified by extremely fast variations of the "amen break" sample. I chose to opt for a more relaxed bpm of 100 by considering a trap style drum machine rhythm mixed with a classic 80s sounding plucked bell synthesizer made on alchemy.

 

 

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By finding a preset I enjoyed and altering the ADSR, as well as increasing the rate of one of the oscillators, I created a good break for the sample and created a downbeat opportunity for the synthesizer to build into a second chorus. I altered the Arpeggiator to add a syncopated 1/8 triplet in order to contribute to the track's identity towards the game's geometric theme.

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Then to give the track it's own notable aspect I created a stereo image of the original sample in the second drop by beginning the build-up with a high-pass filter applied on a mono track then duplicating the track and hard-panning the two channels Left and Right at the moment of the drop adding an immersive aspect to the track. 

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With the track completed, I sent it over to the client and like I had predicted, the developer was pleased with the track's variation from the existing playlist. They also expressed content with the respect of the game's theme and how the song differs from the tracklist but keeps the character of the game

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Due to the current progress of the game and the music engine being fairly simplistic, serving as a non-diegetic accompaniment to the on-screen actions for the player... The music was able to be added to the game within a matter of days. And the track alongside my name would appear in the end-screen credits once the game is released. 

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This project taught me to interpret briefs with a wider consideration of a project's depth, such as in the case of this game's tracklist. Providing a track that stands out to the client while respecting the boundaries of a brief reflects well on my character as an outside-the-box composer and the client's opinion can lead to recommendations of my services to other developers or even a call back to a future project.