Some of my game tracks

[WatchDaToast]

Hey everyone!
I am currently writing the entire soundtrack for my AGS game, but I am a bit insecure about the quality of my compositions.
It would be great if some here could take a look at the songs I made and check if they sound alright.
After working on these for so long, I can`t tell if they sound ok anymore . When drawing a picture, I can always flip it to see the mistakes... but with music,
this has always been a bit harder for me. 

For a start, this is the main theme of my game:
https://soundcloud.com/user-666832169/owlsgard-theme-ver1/s-caRuVnVnNZK

When creating music for games, I always write a midi first and then put some soundfonts on them. Totally not a convincing orchestral sound, but so far it works within the retro game vibe.
Haven`t bothered too much with the mixing.
I like the different parts of the track, but I am not sure if this whole composition is coherent in itself. I even get the feeling it could be confusing for new listeners on some parts.

[Hobo]

That link gives me "This track was not found. Maybe it has been removed" message.

[WatchDaToast]

Oops! Did not know soundcloud needs a special secret link for private links!
Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed it!

[Hobo]

Thanks for the quick link fix! I actually like the variety and different transitions, didn't feel confusing at  all. Overall, sounds great to me, the main melody is memorable, loved the drum section, would use something with this quality in one of my own games in a heartbeat. Hopefully more musically-literate people can chime in with some actual advice and feedback.

[Cassiebsg]

Sounds great, very adventury feel. 
I'm not a music savvy either, sÃ¥ kan't give you much feedback in that regard... but I do know what I like and what I hate. And I love this one. 

[Mandle]

I love the track overall, but there is also a huge difference in a track for a movie or a game.

In a movie you can perfectly control the timing of the music to fit every scene because you know exactly how long each scene is.

But...

I always find it jarring in a game when the music reaches it's conclusion with the final fanfare and then there is silence and it starts over. This is okay for title screens but not, for me, within the game-play. It just reminds me that I'm playing a game.

But, for this track, I think it is possible to create both the full version for the title screen, and also a track that loops seamlessly. Two minutes is enough variation so that the player will not feel the repetition too much.

One trick I have noticed in games also is that there are multiple versions of the seamlessly looping theme, one the normal, and the other more intense with heavier drum beats etc. for when the action is heating up, and then maybe another one that sounds more emotional for those kind of moments, and then the game fades them in and out depending on the situation but, because they are all basically the same music, it works very well at a subliminal level and the player isn't jarred by the shift and it feels very natural like a movie score.

[WatchDaToast]

@Hobo
Thanks a lot! 
I am super glad that this track seems to be good so far and that the melodies seem to sound natural for a first-time-listener.

@Cassiebsg
Thanks! :slight_smile: I really wanted this cheesy adventurous feel. Good to know it comes across well..

@Mandle
Thank you!
You are right about that!
I already created a looping version of this theme, where after the final conclusion,
it immediately goes back to the rythm you hear at the very beginning. And thus, it loops
seamlessly. I think the worst you could have is a short moment of silence before it starts again,
which won`t happen this way.
I want to use the looping version of the song during a part where the player steers a little ship across an ocean to reach the next playable area, and so far I think it works somewhat well with the
upbeat rhythm and the ascending energy of the song during some parts. Wouldn`t want to use it during puzzle solving parts though, it would be way too anticlimatic.

[Mandle]

I could never spell "Rhythm" right until I read a mnemonic, about 30 years ago, from a guy that remembered it as "Red Hot, You Two Headed Monster" and put an image in his head of a two-headed monster bashing away on a drum-set.

Now, if I could come up with one so I could spell "Yacht" correctly every time without having to use autocorrect...

Ohhh... how about:

"You Are Cretins Hunting Treasure" with the mental linking image being a bunch of stupid teenagers vacationing on a yacht (YAY! IT WORKED!!! NO AUTOCORRECT!!!") who found a sunken treasure like in that stupid, but ridiculously entertaining, movie.

[Nikolas]

Hiya,

I'm a musician myself.

Well done on composing for your game!

The melodic ideas are quite interesting and so is your harmony.

But I'd like to offer a few pointers.

1. What Mandle says is true. The "woosh" moments make me think that something is happening on screen, when usually it's not the case. I know you mentioned looping, but keep in mind about this.
2. What samples are you using? The dynamics are rather flat (velocity) and it sounds a little dry for my taste through my laptop speakers.
3. You could do with some variation on the velocity and the tempo map.
4. Your orchestration sounds full, but it feels that it could use a little more thought overall.

It's a brilliant little tune, if I'm honest and I'm listening twice, so if you're not bored, it's worth exploring a little more the above things.

[WatchDaToast]

@Nikolas

Thanks a lot for this detailed post!

Until now I always used those slow "woosh" cymbals to add some tension before a new phrase
starts (and to make some transitions from one part to another seem smoother).
But now that you mention that, I can see why they could feel distracting! Normally I`d say those
slow cymbals are used when something appears on screen, like a logo. Maybe it would be better
to just add "normal" cymbal hit? I need to try it!

I only use a soundfont named OmegaGMGS2, which still sounds very midi-ish. But I like
the timbre of the instruments a lot. Aside from that, not a lot of mixing is done on my tracks.
I usually add some reverb to the instruments in Cubase and remove most of the mid frequencies, so
the sound effects and voices in the game don`t get drowned out during louder tracks (it also helps
to make the whole sound of the music a bit "warmer").

You are right, there is still a lot of room for individual velocities, haven`t really bothered with that much until now.
But I already have an idea where I could change up the tempo a bit during the track... I will experiment
a bit with it and then post a newer version.

I still compose my tracks just like I did when I made "normal" midi files, which means the orchestration
is a bit barebones and reduced to the most important instruments. I have not much experience on
how to make it sound more convincing in terms of a full orchestra sound, but I`d love to experiment around and
learn more about this as I am writing more tracks.
Could you give me more insight on what you mean by more thought overall?

Thanks again for this constructive criticism, it really helps a lot!

[Jojo_the_monkey]

Hi!! It is very nice and suitable as a main theme for your game. I would experiment with key changes more to give an adventurous feeling. John Williams is a master on this technique, if you want to have a close listen to his pieces.