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Star Wars is often classed as "Space Fantasy" or even "Space Opera", which just goes to show how indistinct some of the genre bindings are!!

Yeah, that's true. It's the same with music genres. I guess the best thing you can do is to ignore genres completely and just write. Eventually someone else will classify your work and tell you what it is you've written.

That really depends on the story you're writing. None of these settings is "better". If done right, both can be brilliant. And of course both can be pure crap if done badly.
If both are possible for your story, just do what feels right. Or mix them up, as CaptainD said. Often you can't draw a distinct line between Fantasy and Science Fiction anyway. Star Wars, for example, is typically labeled as Science Fiction. But if you ask me, it's much more fantasy than sci-fi.

Here's a new version of the track. Considering Viking's suggestions I varied the strings. I also adjusted the instrument and reverb levels slightly.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/music/conspirocracy/maze-preview2.ogg

I like the overture, but I think you've almost put too many ideas into that piece. So many motives, but most of them just played briefly and gone too soon.
The battle theme is a great composition overall. Maybe the snare drum could use some variation, it's quite repetitive. The whole piece might also sound too "relaxed" at the moment, but that really depends on the feeling of these battles in the game.
The town theme is a perfect background music and beautiful as it is. It sounds very "full", but again, that deends on the feeling of that location in the game.

The sound of these tracks is quite good, and very coherent. You can tell that they belong together. The individual instruments are well-balanced, but the heavy use of reverb makes them sound muddy in places. Especially the flutes sound quite artificial with too much reverb (or chorus?). I'd probably play with the reverb type and levels to get more clarity and definition.

Well done, keep it up!

Here's the ultimate reason: Developers, Developers...

For me, Computers have always been about creating stuff. When I was a kid, my parents bought a C64. Everyone was using it to play games, but I was the one who RTFM and tried to programm his own (crappy) games using (crappy) BASIC. Later I created my own (crappy) animations and started to compose music on the Amiga. Somehow it went on like this, and eventually things became less crappy.

As the others said, just keep your first project(s) small. Make at least one small game before you start anything else - this will prove others that you are able to plan and actually finish a project. It's also a good way to learn the basics of game development, as you'll most likely make some mistakes at the beginning.
If you're working with volunteers, reliability is the biggest issue. There's always the possibility that a project fails just because a team member suddenly loses interest and just disappears without a trace. This is why people choose carefully who they work with. But if you start small and show some dedication, people are more likely to work with you. Still, that doesn't save you from being let down - this happened to me several times, so I know what I'm talking about. But eventually you'll find some reliable people to join your big project. Just be patient and work on your skills.

Thank you Viking, your comments are always very helpful! 
You're particularly right about the second point, I'll try to give the strings a bit more variation.

The soundtrack is nearing completion (so far I composed 14 tracks for the game), and I'd like to share one more tune with you.
Conspirocracy can be roughly divided into three "acts", each with a very different mood. The following preview is from the final act, and of all these tracks it's my favourite to listen to. I'd love to hear your opinions:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1891681/music/conspirocracy/maze-preview.ogg

It's good to see so many lovely entries. I'll try to finish something by Monday, but most likely I won't enter this time. Too busy with other soundtrack work at the moment (which is not a bad thing at all).

I'm working on something, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough time this week. I hope I'll finish it in time.

[nihilyst:]

And here are my comments:

nihilyst: This is actually very good for "done in 10 minutes"! It has a nice impressionist mood. It feels kind of improvised, which is not necessarily a bad thing, though the music is a bit directionless in places. For a deus ex machina, it evolves a bit too slowly. It definitely ends more positive than it starts, but the change is very subtle. Overall very well done, but it's lacking the sudden unexpected twist.

Intense Degree: Your tune may be unfinished, but it sounds very complete to me. It is well written, has a nice sound and atmosphere, and it has the sudden twist that this contest was aiming for. I could totally see this in a "deux ex machina" cut scene. Well done!

I had hoped for more entries, but the two we got are both very good. The winner is Intense Degree, because his tune is closer to the topic of this contest. Congratulations!

[April 1st]

Okay, it seems that people are running out of time for this contest. Intense Degree is working on something and nihilyst doesn't want to win by default, so I might as well extend the deadline by a couple of days.
So, if no one objects, the new deadline will be April 1st and I'll pick a winner on Tuesday.

4 days left! I'm wating for the first entry 

[Idea:]

Interesting theme, and so many excellent entries!

Here's my vote:
Idea: Kastchey
Atmosphere: Miez
Design: Miez
Composition: Miez
Functionality: Lasca
Technique: Kasander

Fantastic work, Viking.
This is very well-written with a lot of attention to detail. Each of the three movements could have been a winner entry.

Thanks for your detailed feedback, Viking!

The mountain ascension is a rather comical scene in a strange setting, that's why it sounds a little weird and not like a traditional mountain climb. I'm quite confident it works, but to explain the context would probably be too much of a spoiler. I'll consider your suggestions though.

The riot music is a similar case. I thought about making it more aggressive (e.g. by using an electric guitar with lots of overdrive). But it's also quite a humorous scene, and the music should match the city theme, so I went for the "funky" sound.

[Riot]

@Anian: Yes, the tune has a SimCity feeling to it, and you're not the first to notice that. I guess hours of playing SimCity 3000 have had an impact on me.
@Shane: Thank you! The tunes are very different indeed. The game has a great diversity of locations, and this is reflected in the music. The challenge is to make everything feel coherent nonetheless, but I'm confident that we'll make it work.

Here's another one. A short cut-scene with sounds, I guess the name says it all: Riot

Yes, definitely! But as I'm not going to win any MAGS competition in the foreseeable future, I settled for the tune contest

[April 1st]

EDIT: The new deadline is April 1st.


Deus ex Machina (Latin: "god from the machine") is a plot device that is used to resolve a seemingly hopeless situation in a sudden and unexpected way. As the name suggests, this could be the intervention of a higher power, but it can also be something completely different.
A more detailed explanation and many examples can be found on tvtropes.org (beware, this website will kill your time once you start reading!)

For this contest, I want you to compose a tune for a "Deus ex Machina" scene. The rules are simple:

* The tune should start in a pessimistic, depressing or dramatic way.
* There must be at least one sudden, unexpected twist.
* It should end on a positive note

You have two weeks, the deadline is March 29th.

Happy composing!

Beautiful! I just love fingerstyle guitar. Your songs are all well written and your guitar playing is excellent. Not much to criticise here, the sound quality is very good too.

What guitar and recording equipment did you use for these recordings?