Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

I think anytime that there are no distractions, be it morning, day or night. Sadly, inspiration does not always coincide with when there is free-time!

Feeling pretty mainstream I have to say Final Fantasy VII, it always has been ever since I played it. Suffice to say I also love FF6, 7 8 9 and 10. As well as other RPGs such as the Elder Scrolls series.

Suffice to say what really draws me to FFVII is its story, and perhaps, nostalgia.

At 9/8/14 03:43 PM, SkyeWint wrote:

At 9/8/14 03:06 PM, Jay-Turner wrote:

At 9/8/14 02:59 PM, SkyeWint wrote:

At 9/8/14 02:23 PM, Jay-Turner wrote: Here goes!
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/587145

Let the battle begin!

May the best man win! D:

I'll make a prize of your skin!

I shouldn't try to do a rhyming competition

http://youtu.be/mj10mBpUfw0?t=3m13s

Haha interesting gmod commentary there o.O Anyway good luck, not that you need it! I really like your piece.

At 9/8/14 02:59 PM, SkyeWint wrote:

At 9/8/14 02:23 PM, Jay-Turner wrote: Here goes!
http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/587145

Let the battle begin!

May the best man win! D:

Here goes!

• 
  Memoirs of an Old Dreamer by Jay-Turner

  NGADM'14 Round 2 Submission

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Classical

  Popularity

  1 Views

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At 8/29/14 02:13 PM, Troisnyx wrote:

At 8/29/14 02:06 PM, Jay-Turner wrote:

At 8/29/14 01:55 PM, Troisnyx wrote: This piece is turning out to be far simpler in instrumentation and everything else than I expected, and this is worrying me a bit.

That is my greatest fear - instrumentation being too simple! I feel like what I'm writing is a lot simpler than it was for round 1. I am hoping to flesh mine out though.

I suppose sometimes 'simple' works, but the trouble with me is that my complexities are too subtle. Things like chord changes and progressions, little passing notes, things that would look amazing on sheet, but seem so watered down when I actually look at my FLP and see just how sparsely noted it is.

'Simple' does work, I'm trying to keep my melodies simpler to create more motifs for this round. But it is nice to add colour with those complex subtleties. But I know the feeling. For me at the moment I'm working with lots of layers of instrumentation but I'm trying to balance it so that it doesn't sound as complicated as it is almost (so its easier to listen to). Its that balance that I'm struggling with right now.

At 8/29/14 01:55 PM, Troisnyx wrote: This piece is turning out to be far simpler in instrumentation and everything else than I expected, and this is worrying me a bit.

That is my greatest fear - instrumentation being too simple! I feel like what I'm writing is a lot simpler than it was for round 1. I am hoping to flesh mine out though.

At 8/27/14 08:18 AM, Troisnyx wrote: How's progress, everyone?

Slow and full of writers block :D

I decided to opt in for a sleep deprivation study next week at Uni so I'm trying to get most of it written before then.

Thanks BrainLight!

Congrats to everyone who made it through, and thanks to all of the judges. I'm looking forward to the next round - with a hint of anxiety :D I can't wait to see what people produce.

At 8/22/14 04:44 PM, LunyAlex wrote: I don't have a particularly well defined opinion of what the system Should be like, but I'll contribute with a few thoughts:

I too avoid linking my material through NG, outside of NG.
This would seem odd, because NG is where I usually get most views, most useful feedback and where I get to interact most with people and fellow artists.

Yet when I release a new song and want to let my Facebook friends know about it, I link a Soundcloud link.
Why?
Because Soundcloud lacks anything that can add bias to the first listen.

If someone zerobombs a song of mine, NG suddenly identifies the song as a 3/5 star song. I don't deny that it might be a 3/5 song; I definitely don't view my material as deserving of impeccable 5/5 scores.

But someone coming from my Facebook friends list knows nothing of all of this. The first thing they'll get to notice about the song is probably the score.

Suddenly, "This isn't a 5/5 song" is the very first element that an unknowing listener takes note of. Whether this has a huge impact on their opinion of the final track is relative, but it very well might.

So yes, in support of Peter's post, NG is a closed circuit for me, as a musician. It's the most productive and helpful circuit, but closed nevertheless.
There's more potential there.

Another point would be that... regardless of whether art should be associated with a scoring system or not, as it stands right now, IMO, the scoring system in place is defective.

I've seen some of the best music I know of on NG scoring lower than some extremely simplistic, amateur sounding tune.
There's nothing wrong with simplistic, amateur sounding tunes, and art is subjective, but there's something wrong when what one could consider a piano virtuoso's masterpiece scores lower than a semi-dissonant beginner's first attempt at music-making.

(Why is this? Because the piano song was exposed to more views, hence more zerobombers.)

Anonymous vote is the source of this.
Removing anonymity would, at least in part, fix the scoring system.

Removing scores altogether would have a complex impact, that's for sure, but I share the opinion that it'd be a good idea.

I'm not sure if voting is that essential of an element in the NG experience.
I mean, I assume even people that enjoy giving their vote in #ofStars realize that voting is basically useless, because it's way too random and rid with malicious intent (by a minority; but an impactful minority nevertheless).

That's about all I had to say.
Sorry if the phrasing is horrid at times; I'm extra sleep deprived, but I thought I'd share my thoughts before I lose them.

Disclaimer: My above stated views are being expressed with the best of intentions. I do very much appreciate this site's existence as is, even if I do have to agree with OP that there's steps that could be taken as a natural evolution of the website.

Cheers.

I still consider myself new to Newgrounds but having been here this is an issue I have noticed on others work and my own. I think anonymity is a large factor in 'zero-bombing' and such, for example. It is a fact that peoples' perceptions are skewed negatively if presented with negative information (i.e. bad score) prior to assessing art. Obviously Newgrounds users are aware of zero-bombers but other people don't know that from outside of Newgrounds.

This is a real shame, I think Newgrounds has a great community and for me its the best place I have found to post my music and get it heard by people who are willing to share their opinions - but to re-iterate what LunyAlex said the scoring causes an unwillingness to link outside of here.

The issue with anonymity. Even if voting is no longer anonymous, is there anything to stop people making multiple accounts? None the less it would make it a lot more effort for people to 'zero-bomb' etc which is more likely to deter them. Also if one user is constantly giving 1 star reviews it would flag them.

I think an alternative here is retaining a 5-star review system but requiring a review to give a rating, at least there is then meaning to the number and why they gave that rating. The negative consequence of this however would probably earn people less ratings (because its more effort than just clicking a button) and/or a lot of nuisance reviews from trolls that would require filtering.

None the less I think removing anonymous voting would aid that issue!

Obviously the central issue remains that a 5 star voting system is flawed (for its subjective nature of use which yields so much power), but it is used globally and I don't think it is an easy thing to remedy!

This is my submission for NGADM round 1. I feel like this is my most mature piece of music to date, but I really want to push myself even further. Its very orchestral and I really want to build on that style of composing.

• 
  Unshackling the Necromancer by Jay-Turner

  Dark orchestral piece for NGADM'14

  Score

  3.63 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  88 Views

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I would really appreciate feedback! Thanks :)

At 8/18/14 06:03 AM, Gobblemeister wrote:

:Orton and Reigns was about as good as you could expect but Reigns needs some new moves

I think Orton was the only one pulling the impressive moves that match. It amazes me how out of the remnants of The Shield Reigns is the popular one, when pretty much all he does is punch people! Rollins and Ambrose are both much more entertaining to watch.

Finally finished my composition. I hope you enjoy it, and good luck to everybody else in the competition :)

• 
  Unshackling the Necromancer by Jay-Turner

  Dark orchestral piece for NGADM'14

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  1 Views

• Loading...

A bit delayed but congrats to everybody who made it. I'm really looking forward to the challenge the competition presents and equally I look forward to hearing what everybody else produces :)

The Odd Time-Signature Haiku

Audible colours
Massaging cells of the mind
Rhythmically pleasing

Clarity

Through the murky mist
Her crystal does find its way
She brings a clear kiss

Well, I've never written a Haiku before so here goes.

Autumnal Frost

Glistening blue leaf
Watch your amber heart wither
With anguish and grief

I'll give it a shot so here is my audition :-

• 
  The Juggernaut's Clutch by Jay-Turner

  A piece depicting tension in the midst of the juggernaut.

  Score

  3.99 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  868 Views

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I'm sure it will be a learning experience and I really look forward to see what people produce!

Well, I have to say I like what kazaki03 posted!

Anyway, I think a large portion of music I listen is considered 'foreign' (In that it doesn't originate in the UK or USA)

Ulver (Norwegian) are incredible. Impossible to define because they do so much music stylistically. Nowadays half of the band is English so they only count 50% but the were originally Norwegian only. They originally played black metal, then went to acoustic stuff then to industrial metal, to trip hop and then god knows what - but its amazing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bb6yvlkT9M I had never heard sounds like these until I heard Ulver so if anyone knows anything remotely similar I'd love to know!

I also listen to a Polish band called Riverside, who are progressive rock/metal.

I listen to Epica, who are a dutch symphonic metal band.

Quite an obscure artist I like is called Za Frumi, whom are Swedish and they make fantasy music, generally revolving around the villains (e.g. Orcs/Vampires) as the protagonists in their music. Very Tolkien inspired, check it out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cqhS1nXBro

Also I love Ayreon who is done by a brilliant Dutch composer called Arjen Lucassen. He tells epic fantasy sci-fi stories in progressive rock/folk/metal concept albums and has lots of famous guest vocalists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkod0GA5Qj8

As pop music isn't a 'genre' I can't explicitly state that I hate pop music. I mean Queen were popular but they were far from boring! Bohemian Rhapsody was hardly the standard 'Intro Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Chorus Outro' song structure. Although I am against the music that is manufactured for mass consumption with the only object of it money. It is however, mostly very dull and predictable.

Personally, I'm a progressive metal/rock fan so anything with wierd time signatures and unexpected musical ideas fascinates me. I think prog is a loose 'genre' defining term though, as Opeth and Pink Floyd are both considered 'progressive' but they don't sound alike. But prog has what most genres lack for me and that is that it is almost always interesting (really into a band called Haken at the moment).

At 6/20/14 07:09 PM, orangebomb wrote:
Y'know, I keep seeing the exact same comments, and it's obvious that it's not as simple as you make it out to be. Bigger companies have franchises that have huge fan bases that they have to deal with, (i.e. Call of Duty) and any sort of massive change can damage, if not ruin a franchise and a fanbase if a game is too different from the others without some signs. Also, back then, the industry was a virtual Wild West, in which you had many different companies make games for something that was largely considered a niche market for kids and teens, which in theory sounds good, but a lot of those were mediocre to horrible. Frankly, it wasn't until the late 90's where VG development other than Nintendo and Sega became a serious occupation in entertainment.

While I wasn't as explicit I don't think I disagree. I am aware that game companies have their franchises that they need to maintain. I do think that most franchises have been 'ruined' by trying to retain a fanbase and earn more fans, and that's simply business. I can think of many series, aside from Tomb Raider, like Final Fantasy, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid and so on in which this has happened. This is okay, and you can't avoid it so there's no point getting upset about it. Obviously Square Enix, Konami etc have a monopoly on the market. But as I said isn't it the same for any creative industry? I don't like mainstream music, but I know there are plenty of independent artists out there that I do like, as an anology.

That's just one thing, and honestly that's isn't really one of the biggest deals out there. Now, that doesn't mean that your point doesn't have any merit or validity, but it seems like it's a cheap crutch that retro fans use against modern games and often times, they fail to realize that a lot of difficulty that was in past games were due to inexperience with the developers, which led to glitches and bugs that sometimes go though unnoticed.

Also, there a lot more casual fans then before, and they aren't necessarily in the mood to waste time of hard games unless they like the game itself, which is why the Wii and smartphone games are so popular now.

Well, I don't believe it was bugs and glitches that made games harder. I generally think the puzzles were much harder, and there weren't systems in place in the game to make gameplay easier (such as a line pointing where you should go or dialogue explicitly telling you) - There was nothing to stop them programming these into the games but they didn't. Doesn't having these things defeat the object of making a game? If I wanted to play a game that told me everything I needed to do or have button mashing cutscenes then I had may aswell watch a movie! (But again this is a direction a lot of games have taken..).

Again this is a personal preference and I did not deny that companies are aiming a lot at casual consumers (rather than fewer 'hardcore' gamers). Hence it still boils down to my initial premise, is that they have determined what sells, and sellin' is good!

I wouldn't be quick to praise indie developers, because a lot of those games are either near or are rip-offs of older games which only appeal to hardcore retro fans, or artsy games that are more interactive movies than actual games that hipsters simply eat up. It also doesn't help that a lot of indie developers and fans are either heavily biased, arrogant or even both, which turn off a lot of people who may have an inkling to play indie games in the first place. With that, it's no surprise why people shy away from indie games and they seem to make games the only they and a few curious folks would enjoy that aren't Minecraft or Braid.

You do have one thing correct, it's what THEY (and others like them) want to play, not necessarily everyone else.

Perhaps I was too eager to praise the indie developers. But just because there are rip-offs and 'artsy' games (which I don't like) doesn't mean there isn't the potential. But hey, even you play games here on Newgrounds and aren't they made be independent people? It is important that people make what they want to play, that makes it genuine - even if you or I don't like it. It is either that or have what somebody thinks you want to play.

To the original point, gaming is not dying. They know what sells and it is appealing to the greater majority. I don't expect the bigger companies to bend to the will of someone with opinions such as myself - but I do hope that more games will be made by smaller companies that counter what is wrong with most modern games.

At 6/19/14 09:27 AM, Luciuspain wrote: It would be nice to see larger companies taking more risks with the extra horsepower its not for 1080 p and 60 fps its so designers can do wacky things players have not seen before.

I think this is the main issue, with any field really not just games. Every industry (be it the music industry, movie industry or gaming industry) after years of experimentation have established 'what sells'. So, gaming is not dying but the bigger companies don't take the risks that were taken for a lot of the classic retro games to become hits that we all remember and love.

The big gaming companies know that they appeal to a bigger market by making games look really good visually and be easy (easy = more people). Take Square Enix's Tomb Raider. I played it through on hard with a breeze, then compare that to the Tomb Raiders of the 90s, they were hard, and they didn't have 'instinct' to tell you exactly what you need to do. To me, a game that provides a challenge is better.

Regardless, the gaming industry is definitely not dying. They appeal to a mass, and growing audience. On the bright side, there is the indie side of the industry, which means there are still people who are passionate about it making games that THEY want to play, not what a big corporation wants you to play. That's what matters!

I've been pretty busy at Uni so this is my first piece since finishing my exams this year. It is oriented towards a soundtrack, that would accompany a cutscene from a game or clip from a movie.

• 
  The Juggernaut's Clutch by Jay-Turner

  A piece depicting tension in the midst of the juggernaut.

  Score

  5.00 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  9 Views

• Loading...

I got Zebra 2.5 recently so this is my first use of it so any feedback would be great! Thanks!

Congrats to everybody who won and was a runner up, the music was great. I'm pretty new here so it was a great introduction for me, and it was nice to get feedback from other users. I really hope that it's run again next year. It definitely helped develop my abilities and it's nice to actually have a goal to work towards, that really helps the drive to finish a piece of music.

• 
  Our Legend Falls by PeterSatera

  AIM 2014. Cinematic Orchestra - A Legend of war experiences his last moments.

  Score

  4.27 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  599 Views

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I think this one goes without saying, absolutely fantastic cinematic piece and I love the use of dissonance in it.

• 
  Forest under the Stars by MrBellington

  Big orchestral piece written for NG 2014 Art-inspired music contest.

  Score

  4.27 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  97 Views

• Loading...

This is another great dynamic piece. I love how the music just flows so well and I think there is no other word but 'beautiful' that comes to mind when describing it.

• 
  Paper Plane by motakay

  Progressive rock song for AIM 2014.

  Score

  4.54 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Fusion

  Popularity

  130 Views

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This prog rock inspired piece is great. I think it's very original and I think you can tell a lot of thought was put into linking the music to the artwork.

Thanks for your response, I'm having a look into Dark Zebra and Massive. I have to say Dark Zebra is impressing me from what I've seen so it looks like it might be my next investment. Your response has been very helpful anyway :) I'll come back to it when I get the software.

At 4/12/14 01:48 PM, Bspendlove wrote:

At 4/12/14 10:01 AM, Jay-Turner wrote: Does anybody know how to get this 'underwater' bassy synth sounding drums? I'd much appreciate it!

Of course! Hans Zimmers Zebra 2 (Dark Zebra) has a lot of patches that sound similar to this.

It's extremely easy to create a patch in Zebra 2 or Massive, using Performers/Steppers with the Cutoff. Choose a waveform that sounds suitable to your liking, add some reverb and some Delay. Delay takes an important part in these sort of sounds because it really enhances the rhythm in a patch (I like to think so anyway...)

Try using dotted rhythms along with a common rhythm: Left: 1/8. and Right: 1/8.... or experiment!

It's extremely cool how easy this sound is to make, it's just tweaking little tiny parameters and it completely makes the sound much better if you just keep tweaking until you hear it right.

There's a particular electronic/percussive sound I'd like to achieve and it's done quite a lot in movie/game soundtracks. Inon Zur uses it briefly at 3:10 in this piece from Crysis - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA-9TNXts8M Does anybody know how to get this 'underwater' bassy synth sounding drums? I'd much appreciate it!

Here is my submission.

Music:
www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/572828

Art:
www.newgrounds.com/art/view/keepwalking/titan-wars

Thanks! :)

Well, no more undertaker streak... does anyone think that's the first step on the path to retirement?? Chuffed with Daniel Bryan's victory though, that was really satisfying, and to be honest I was wanting John Cena to win (despite the painful acted 'inner struggle he had' haha) so that was good.

But The Undertaker... well. The thing is, Brock Lesnar is never going to beat the streak, even if he broke it.

Hi everyone. My name's Jay Turner and I am a composer. I'd really like to start putting myself out there with social media such as Facebook and I think visual media is just as important as having good music. So I would like to on-top of my Soundcloud and Newgrounds get a Facebook page up and running, I would like a cover photo that catches the eye, perhaps a scenic fantasy-esque landscape.

I compose in a variety of styles which you can check out at my soundcloud or on here (a couple of clips below), I am interested in fantasy/sci-fi/horror soundtrack composing. - http://soundcloud.com/jt_composer

• 
  The Haven by Jay-Turner

  That feeling of safety whilst horror lurks around the corner.

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Ambient

  Popularity

  1 Views

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• 
  Heroicus Virtus by Jay-Turner

  A piece that embodies heroic virtue.

  Score

  0 / 5.00

  Type

  Song

  Genre

  Cinematic

  Popularity

  62 Views

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Please reply or message me if you are interested and we can discuss further :)

Cheers,

Jay Turner