What do you think of the "music" I made for my game.

pixeltroid

Member
I'm not a musician but I have dabbled in drum programming in the past.

Using FLstudio, I made a couple of tracks that I thought could be used for my game. I was going for a dark-ish and tense kind of sound. The "instruments" used are a bassline, a lead synth, and a realistic sounding drum kit (Kicks, Snare, a couple cymbals/rides/whatever, and some toms). I didn't want to use any synths that sounded too fancy or distracting SFX.

Take a listen and let me know your thoughts on it:

https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-1
https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-2
If it's garbage and let me know! šŸ˜

IF there's something you like about it or if you think it can be salvaged in any way, let me know.

:)
 
Well, it's not garbage. šŸ˜

Generally speaking, the drums are the best part of both tracks, especially on the second one. In my opinion, the lead synth on the first track repeats itself a little too quickly, a problem I've noticed in my own "attempts" at music creation. During actual gameplay this may not be as noticeable as when you are just listening to the music on its own, though. The second track almost has the opposite problem, where the synth barely repeats at all, not giving the listener a through-line to follow. Some sort of middle ground between the two would be great, as you have the start of some good tracks here.
 

ElectroMan

Jack of All Shades
Wow, do you use headphones at all, that bass drum is compressed to heck on the first track. Much better on the second.
Like Voldemort said, you lack a leitmotif on the second track, it's just disorienting. I mean, it might go well with a certain kind of game and stage if you want to induce confusion, but yeah music with no leitmotifs or structure are unpalatable. The drum is fairly decent on both (aside from the aforementioned compressed bass drum). Mastering can do some good in filling up the higher frequencies, although all you have going for it are the cymbals and not much else. This results in a lopsided track that is heavy on the lower end of the spectrum. Some pads or a repeating pluck sequence might help here. Last resort, some generic sweep FX to denote phrasal end and start can work.

Overall not a bad start though.
 

Mk.2

Member
The death metal influence is very apparent in the riffs and the way they progress, as well as the drums. Especially the second track, and I suspect that is the reason for the lack of a leitmotif. It's structured just like a death metal song, which might not work as well in the context of level music for a game.
 
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pixeltroid

Member
HeWhoShallNotBeNamed & ElectroMan

Thanks for the feedback both of you. I'm a novice when it comes to composing music and still have a lot to learn when it comes to music production.

Mk.2
Yeah, I was using death metal and metal in general as a reference. But yeah, level music needs that little extra something.

I have no idea what a leitmotif is, in the context of game music. What's a good example of it?
 

pixeltroid

Member
Anyway, I made another attempt and came up with some new tracks:

Would like to hear feedback on it.

https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-3
https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-4
https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-5
https://soundcloud.com/user-220725467%2Fcitadel-6
I can always add new synths what not, but for now, I wan't to know if these "work" and if the music "flows". Is there something about them that you like or dislike in particular? If so, what is it?
 
All of these tracks are solid, although they're a little same-y. That's not necessarily a bad thing as long as you have something else to break them up, though, like a overworld map or menu theme that sounds a little different from these. As for "flow," the only track where I felt the change in the music was a little too abrupt was the first of the new tracks (especially at the 13 second mark). This could be solved with a short transition between the two musical phrases.

As for leitmotif, its generally defined as a recurring phrase that's used to represent a person, a particular theme, or in this case, a stage. For examples in gaming, I would look at the original Mega Man games, Contra, and (glancing at the Kefka avatar to the left) Final Fantasy VI. On that last one, listen to Terra's Theme first, then try to catch how many ways its opening notes are repurposed in other tracks.
 

HayManMarc

Member
I really like the first two. Seems like you changed what you were doing with the rest. 3 and 6 stand out to me as being on track with what you started with. I think track 2 was fantastic, just unfinished. The progression is great, to my ears. If you could continue that progression to finish with the melody you started with, you'd have some gold, in my opinion. (Not to be used for main gameplay, but maybe a boss fight. --track 2)

The 1st and 3rd song could be main level play, tho. But you'd need to add more variances to them or they might get repetitive pretty quickly, i would think.

I kinda liked track 6 a bit, too, but it needed .... more .... something. Just, more. Hard to explain. Track 4 and 5 were like this too, but even more so. Just lacking somehow, compared to track 1 and 2.

1 and 2 had energy and originality, and seemed to really fit your visual, in my opinion. (And 3 was cool with the added synth, which sets it apart from the others, making it a little different, but still fits in.)

What do you think, @Siolfor the Jackal and @Kezarus?
 

pixeltroid

Member
HeWhoShallNotBeNamed Thanks for the feedback! Yes I'm still moving things around to see what arrangement sounds best.

HayManMarc Thanks for your feedback! I quite like track 2 myself but I'm not too happy with the sound. It was intended to be a level song. #4 is boss music and #5 is the title song (FOR NOW).

My personal favourite is #3. The extra synth gives it an extra layer or something.
 
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