88 - Music process

[matt]

In this diary, I talk about the process working with the composer for creating the music for Neverending Nightmares.

[JPrice]

Well first off I must say that music sounds brilliant! Love the melody and the repeated bass drone in the background, rather melancholic sounding overall :O

Also glad to hear that the development is going well with the first level and the enemy encounter level, can't wait to try it!

[matt]

I think Skyler is really nailing it! I think the music is my favorite part of the game and the aspect that I had the least involvement in. hahah

I am so excited to release the demo! I think it's going to be really impressive!

[JPrice]

Also by the way Matt, I was just writing the transcript for this video but I can't really make out some things you say around 1:10 - 1:30 when you talk about where you got inspiration for the track from.

I can't catch what the name of the artist is and what soundtrack/series it's from, what is it that you said? Would be helpful haha

[gagaplex]

I really like the song, but it's hard to say whether it fits or not without knowing what the first level will look and be like. Considering the jump in aesthetics from level 2 (old demo) to what I assume to be level 3 (waking up in the asylum at the end of level 2), level 1 could be just about anything.

Is it odd that I'm kind of thinking "dark hallways of an abandoned spaceship", though? Maybe that's just me.

[RightClickSaveAs]

Also by the way Matt, I was just writing the transcript for this video but I can't really make out some things you say around 1:10 - 1:30 when you talk about where you got inspiration for the track from.

I can't catch what the name of the artist is and what soundtrack/series it's from, what is it that you said? Would be helpful haha

Hey, thanks for doing these, I'm glad I can finally help out with something! Here's what Matt said at that point:

I think before he did the starting level, I found this Phillip Glass piece that I really like, I think it's called Prophecies from one of the "-qatsi" series, I think the first one which is Koyaanisqatsi.

Matt does indeed seem to be right, "Prophecies" shows up in Koyaanisqatsi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlICjvs0KIs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsOPR9659Ww
The -qatsi movies are these time-lapse films set to music, there are at least two that I know of.

[JPrice]

Ahhh great! Thanks RightClickSaveAs
I'll get to work finishing the rest of the transcript off when I get in from Uni later

[matt]

Sorry! I was super busy at Steam Dev Days, so I didn't check the forum. RightClickSaveAs is correct.

We just put the asylum at the end of the demo to be kind of thought provoking, but the asylum will actually appear later in the game. Level 3 is something else. It's really cool.

I can't wait to show it everyone! I'm shooting to release the demo on the 27th. I think we should be able to get everything in place by then.

[JPrice]

Sorry about the delay on this but I wrote a transcript finally! (Was busy with assignments sadly hahaa)
I'll make sure to do the other newest one soon as well

Hello! So today I’d like to talk a bit about the musical process. So Skyler Mcglothlin is the composer for the game, he also composed Retro/Grade. I’m not sure how other games work with their composers on AAA titles, we seemed to be pretty hands off like we would just give them descriptions of things and then get music back. Fortunately I have a sort of collaborative working relationship with Skyler.

Basically the way it usually starts is that I describe what I’m looking for and the level to give him a sort of an idea of the theme. The music you’re hearing right now is a first draft for the music on the first starting level, I think before he did the starting level I found this Phillip Glass piece that I really like, I think it's called ‘Prophecies’ from one of the "-qatsi" series, I think the first one which is ‘Koyaanisqatsi’. I felt like it had sort of a creepy vibe and in a previous developer diary I talked about how we’re sort of doing this theme of descent, so the starting level I didn’t want to be as creepy or have that same level of darkness as the second level. I think he nailed the melody in this version of the song, I think the ambience is a little scratchy or rough so I gave him that feedback and then he prepared the final version which is spot on. I’m really happy with it, I think it really fits with what we’re trying to do in the first level. We wanted a melody to make things more grounded, less dark and I think this really sets the mood.

So then for the next track we were doing is for the eventual level that will use the enemy prototype that we’ve been working on for a while now. I pitched some ideas to Skyler, I had some reference music and some things that I felt would really match the theme of the level. Yet again he puts together a version and we go back and forth, so it works really well as I’m in the loop. I remember on one AAA title we just got our songs super late in production and the music didn’t really line up with what we wanted but by then it was too late, I guess that’s just the way it works.

I think the music is something that is very important to our game so I can imagine working in that way, you know keeping in the loop with Skyler is extremely helpful and really makes the game much better.