Gahhh...
I need to make a short song for a cutscene. Just a sort of "casually in danger" kind of sound. But everything ends up sounding too..epic, like a last boss. It's tough to do songs that aren't very melodic, but it's what I need to do in this case.
Long story short, more time spent doing something I can't use for the demo -__-
... I like the work log. Not sure if it's new or not. xD
ReplyDeleteIt's sad because it's actually true -__-. I wasn't satisfied with the little "beep" sounds that represent character's voices as text appears during dialogue, so I made a new sound, and set up a bunch of timers because making the text go fast would make them overlap.
DeleteSpeaking of talking beeps, I've always liked the 'bloops' from Shining Force.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y3IHSdTd1g#t=173
If it overlaps - just stop sound if it's playing when you try to play it again. Well, usually people use channels for this, but GM doesn't have them.
DeleteIt does, actually.
DeleteAs for the beeps, timers sound much better. If you stop the sound, it just sounds really choppy. If you look at a lot of rpgs, you'll notice that when the text is going fast, it actually skips a letter or two, rather than playing the sound once per letter.
It would be cool if they sounded like the adults from Charlie Brown
DeleteKeep it simple. Usualy a escalating "wowowooop" or the classic "dun dun durrrr" :P Something along a heartbeat rythm to inforce some physical danger/effect.
ReplyDeleteThat's great actually. Just keep those songs for another title. It may not help you release this title faster, but it will help you release other titles faster.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll just be using them for something else in this game.
DeleteAbout the song issue maybe you can get some inspiration from the Megaman X or Metroid series, those game sure have tense tunes
DeleteMaybe not play the beep when it is currently beeping? Can a check be done to see if a sound is currently playing?
ReplyDeleteI assume you could toggle a boolean for a specific number of frames?
DeleteA variables goes down for every letter shown. when it's 0, a sound plays and it resets. What it resets to depends on if the player is speeding up text or not.
DeleteHow did you get the voice clip for the MC?
ReplyDeleteSilence or quiet moments are just as important to the mood of a place as the full tunes. I'm sure you understand this as the opening moments of Kurovadis exemplify it. Its tough to match saturated songs containing a bunch of ornaments with sparse, sound designey ones. It sounds like you feel bored by the less saturated stuff, or maybe you feel its not interesting enough for the player. Forcing yourself to use a more sparse set of instruments or a slower melody can be pretty effective, especially if you use a slower version of a melodic line from one of the main themes*
ReplyDelete*random internet person giving generic composition advice to someone who has already made game music and is probably just venting
A few string notes at a tense key, like a "tiptoe" kind of melody followed by an extended fade-out of a longer draw on a string instrument is usually very effective for portraying an instance of caution around danger while avoiding a battle. It's almost the musical personification of "....what was that? .....oh shit..."
ReplyDeleteOr, of course, when in doubt, turn to Shadow of the Colossus.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmoYLtObCtY
"Silence" (24:42), "Creeping Shadow" (32:53), both tracks that play when you're in the Colossus' den and you can see the beast in the distance, but you haven't engaged them in battle yet. There's more like this, and I'm willing to bet you've played this game before. Soft and eerie tones work well for tension without calamity.