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Is my track good enough for games?

2,991 Views | 55 Replies
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I've been making music for around four years now, which isn't long, I know. But, I've always wanted to see my music in games, shows, or perhaps short films. I guess you could say, its sort of my dream. Every time I listen to music in movies and shows, the tracks are always so beautiful and tells a story within the track itself. I tried endlessly to do that, but always seem to fail terribly. So, I decided to ask all of you. What makes a great game, movie and or show song? What elements should a track have to create a song that is good enough to be in one of the categories above? Should the track have real instruments, virtual ones or a little bit of both? Any tips would be helpful, as this means a lot to me. Down below you can find one of the songs I attempted to turn into a video game track. Tell me if you think its good enough for any of those categories. That would be super helpful, thanks!

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/687285

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 14:42:33


I dont think the choice of instruments matters too much be it acoustic or electronic, as long as it sounds clean.

On the subject of movies I think that it should have a dynamic spin to it that follows the events, similar to cutscenes in video games. As for actual games it helps if the track is loopable I suppose.

I could imagine your song to be played as a credits theme of some sort


Listen to drumstep awesomeness xd: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/683617

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:01:08


i love self advertisement posts


lel

BBS Signature

your track is poorly mixed with cheap sounding instruments and boring composition

so... maybe it's good enough for someone?


p.s. i am gay

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:37:12


At 6/3/16 02:42 PM, LaserVision wrote: I dont think the choice of instruments matters too much be it acoustic or electronic, as long as it sounds clean.

On the subject of movies I think that it should have a dynamic spin to it that follows the events, similar to cutscenes in video games. As for actual games it helps if the track is loopable I suppose.

I could imagine your song to be played as a credits theme of some sort

Those are some interesting points you made there that makes a lot of sense. I didn't even think about having to make a track loopable for a video game. But, now that I think about it, that is a very logical statement as most of the music composed for games will repeat an infinite amount of times.

Thanks for the helpful response, much appreciated!

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:37:43


At 6/3/16 03:01 PM, Sequenced wrote: i love self advertisement posts

......

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:40:43


At 6/3/16 03:28 PM, midimachine wrote: your track is poorly mixed with cheap sounding instruments and boring composition

so... maybe it's good enough for someone?

Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:54:14


At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:28 PM, midimachine wrote: your track is poorly mixed with cheap sounding instruments and boring composition

so... maybe it's good enough for someone?
Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-

meh, I can kinda understand from their viewpoints tho, if ya want people to critic yer work try doing the same for others in the audio portal to get noticed in it. do'in it on here is just kinda saying "Hey guys listen to my stuff! and rate it!", it's a good way to not get noticed and if so get flamed. it also doesnt help in yer case cause yer not sponsered. it's guna take time for someone to notice n comment on yer tracks, but if ya really want peoples oppinion, go to the portal listen to other people's stuff coment on their stuff n sooner or ater someone is bound to do the same.

Is my track good enough for games?

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 15:59:08


At 6/3/16 03:54 PM, Akaruhime wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:28 PM, midimachine wrote: your track is poorly mixed with cheap sounding instruments and boring composition

so... maybe it's good enough for someone?
Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-
meh, I can kinda understand from their viewpoints tho, if ya want people to critic yer work try doing the same for others in the audio portal to get noticed in it. do'in it on here is just kinda saying "Hey guys listen to my stuff! and rate it!", it's a good way to not get noticed and if so get flamed. it also doesnt help in yer case cause yer not sponsered. it's guna take time for someone to notice n comment on yer tracks, but if ya really want peoples oppinion, go to the portal listen to other people's stuff coment on their stuff n sooner or ater someone is bound to do the same.

Thanks! Will definitely do that. I just made this account yesterday, so haven't had too much time to do anything yet. But, when I get a chance, I plan on reviewing as much as I possibly can. Thanks for the help, that's what I like to see. ;)

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 16:32:25


At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote: Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-

you kinda just showed up asking for an in depth critique without really engaging anyone else on the site or even introducing yourself, so... :v


p.s. i am gay

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 17:06:00


At 6/3/16 04:32 PM, midimachine wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote: Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-
you kinda just showed up asking for an in depth critique without really engaging anyone else on the site or even introducing yourself, so... :v

You're right, I didn't introduce myself and wasn't engaging in anyone else work and for that I do apologize. I am, however changing that around, as I've reviewed a few songs and images already and have responded to a few forum post too. Regardless of any of that, what you said is still no excuse for being rude to a newbie. If you felt that way, you could have just stated that in the first post you made towards me or perhaps not commented at all, if that was the case.


At 6/3/16 05:06 PM, Modnex wrote: If you felt that way, you could have just stated that in the first post you made towards me or perhaps not commented at all, if that was the case.

yea normally i would but i'm bored. no more tears, only dreams now :')


p.s. i am gay

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-03 17:52:13


At 6/3/16 05:14 PM, midimachine wrote:
At 6/3/16 05:06 PM, Modnex wrote: If you felt that way, you could have just stated that in the first post you made towards me or perhaps not commented at all, if that was the case.
yea normally i would but i'm bored. no more tears, only dreams now :')

Whatever man, its cool!

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-04 00:37:34


At 6/3/16 02:05 PM, Modnex wrote: I've been making music for around four years now, which isn't long, I know. But, I've always wanted to see my music in games, shows, or perhaps short films. I guess you could say, its sort of my dream. Every time I listen to music in movies and shows, the tracks are always so beautiful and tells a story within the track itself. I tried endlessly to do that, but always seem to fail terribly. So, I decided to ask all of you. What makes a great game, movie and or show song? What elements should a track have to create a song that is good enough to be in one of the categories above? Should the track have real instruments, virtual ones or a little bit of both? Any tips would be helpful, as this means a lot to me. Down below you can find one of the songs I attempted to turn into a video game track. Tell me if you think its good enough for any of those categories. That would be super helpful, thanks!

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/687285

Sorry if i disappointed you.. But that level not fit game genre.. And notes poor. Quality sounds good.. But tune notes really poor. And seems like doesn't sounds right.. Also about drums.. Drums sounds like a club music. (Not for a game fit)..If you just remove drums, and fix your tune.. Its will be more fit to games genre ;)

Good Luck :)

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-04 01:11:13


At 6/4/16 12:37 AM, pit80 wrote:
At 6/3/16 02:05 PM, Modnex wrote: I've been making music for around four years now, which isn't long, I know. But, I've always wanted to see my music in games, shows, or perhaps short films. I guess you could say, its sort of my dream. Every time I listen to music in movies and shows, the tracks are always so beautiful and tells a story within the track itself. I tried endlessly to do that, but always seem to fail terribly. So, I decided to ask all of you. What makes a great game, movie and or show song? What elements should a track have to create a song that is good enough to be in one of the categories above? Should the track have real instruments, virtual ones or a little bit of both? Any tips would be helpful, as this means a lot to me. Down below you can find one of the songs I attempted to turn into a video game track. Tell me if you think its good enough for any of those categories. That would be super helpful, thanks!

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/687285
Sorry if i disappointed you.. But that level not fit game genre.. And notes poor. Quality sounds good.. But tune notes really poor. And seems like doesn't sounds right.. Also about drums.. Drums sounds like a club music. (Not for a game fit)..If you just remove drums, and fix your tune.. Its will be more fit to games genre ;)

Good Luck :)

Not sure what you mean by poor notes. I've uploaded this particular track to a few places and most people like the melodies the most. I guess it just comes down to taste, really. Well, thanks for taking the time to review my track and give me some pointers, very appreciated!

Take care! ;)


At 6/4/16 01:11 AM, Modnex wrote: Not sure what you mean by poor notes. I've uploaded this particular track to a few places and most people like the melodies the most. I guess it just comes down to taste, really. Well, thanks for taking the time to review my track and give me some pointers, very appreciated!

Take care! ;)

Your comment about 'most people' liking the melodies within your track immediately made me think back to a period of my life during the summer of 2011 when I decided to gain a bit of YouTube popularity by uploading a "fanmade soundtrack" to an upcoming JRPG (Final Fantasy XIII-2, to be specific) simply because...well...I wanted hits.

This might seem initially off-topic or meandering, but I swear I'm going somewhere with this, so bear with me.

Listening to my old compositions now, I find almost all of them to be universally crap in justabout every regard. I'll link to one of the more popular examples just for reference -- the comments section here is really what made me think back to this video after reading your comment, because a lot of them were super positive/encouraging and, looking back years later, I can't help but chuckle because I'm the first person to admit that I had no earthly idea what I was doing.

Just about everything I hear in my old pieces I would absolutely tear to shreds from any sort of critical and objective standpoint. Mixing, mastering, rhythm (or the lack thereof; I'm 100% self-taught and, while my sense of rhythm has largely improved through practice, I honestly have no idea how people could bare to listen to my old stuff, which was all either lazily super quantized or just caution to the wind entirely), etcetera...though I have to admit that even now, I still, at the very least, like the ideas and -- sometimes -- even the melodies that I ended up producing. I like them not so much because they sound "good", per se, but because I remember what I was trying to achieve through the composition.

That being said, I'm also a bit biased, because I made the songs. It's a love/hate relationship, and, from discussions I've had with friends who also compose music, that seems to be very, very common. I mean, hell; if anything, I've become far more critical of my work over the last couple years. There are songs I composed a couple months back that I was very proud of that I listen to now with borderline disgust, haha. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

Let's say, for instance, that someone else had composed these FFXIII-2 tracks and I just stumbled across them on my own today. Here's exactly what I would think in analyzing the track I linked from a purely objective standpoint.

- The rhythm's so...jittery.
- ...what's with the prominent, gated percussion? Are they suddenly in the 80s?
- Definitely a little too much repetitive marimba action going on.
- The mix sucks.
- The mix SUCKSSS.
- These marimbas are driving me insane now.
- Is there any interesting variation here at all? No? Okay then.

And then I'd stop listening.

As of right now, I'm fortunate to be in a position where I've started to get a couple of paying music gigs -- nothing too fancy, but it's something I'm very proud of nonetheless. I don't say this with the intent of bragging, because what I want to stress is the following.

The only reason I even managed to do so was through pushing myself and being my own worst critic. This all took place over a rather obsessive period of a few months starting around late January/early February when I first got back into music composition/production after a hiatus of sorts. I'd been focusing solely on voiceover work during the interim, and, in the process, ended up learning more about the specifics of audio production than I ever actually bothered to learn back when I was actively composing. I used that knowledge as a foundation when I got back into the swing of music making, hit the ground running, and I've since spent hundreds of hours devoted to the production side of things in addition to the time I've devoted to brushing up on my composing.

Properly produced music, quite frankly, is every bit as important to modern composing as anything else, and once you've spent countless hours in front of your monitors listening critically to the details of your own mixes and everyone else's, things really start to pop out like never before.

Turning my ears to your track, for instance --

You definitely need to tame the low end frequencies in the composition. As it stands, there's FAR too much noisy low end resonance that does nothing but distract from and muddy other elements of the mix. Specifically somewhere between...I dunno...I wanna say 80 to 200Hz due to how resonant it is.

Also - consider the inspiration for the track, as cited in your description; it's a cute story (not being sarcastic or patronizing - I genuinely mean that), but the bass is, from a thematic standpoint, not at all appropriate for a theme dedicated to a pet mouse. Generally, speaking at least. For a theme like this, if you're serious about wanting to compose for games/shows/short films, it's paramount that you tailor your tracks accordingly. That goes for the drums, too.

That's something I never used to do, and that's another reason why I believe so much of my older work doesn't hold up. There's no variation. I pretty much just did what I wanted, and that led to a lot of very same-y sounding compositions.

Speaking of; repetition is another area where your track struggles. Beyond the way the piece is actually set up, a lot of that really just comes down to how sequenced the notes sound. It's really, really noticeable when the piano comes in at the beginning - it sounds very robotic. Some of this can be remedied by altering the velocity for each individual note. If you're quantizing, I'd recommend using a much lighter quantization percentage or none at all. There also needs to be more of a sense of dynamic range and dynamic contract in general throughout the track as a whole. The dynamics here are too squashed. I'm guessing you pushed this track all the way to 0db and/or beyond, which, despite what you may hear elsewhere, isn't inherently bad...IF you do it right. Like I said, this sounds too squashed.

I'd recommend downloading Voxengo's free SPAN plugin and using it to monitor the frequency and RMS response of your next project. As a general rule, I try not to let my RMS value dip below -14 or -13 even when I'm pushing 0db. If I have a track that absolutely NEEDS to be both loud and super bass and/or drum heavy sometimes I'll go as high as -12db, but that's where I try to cut myself off. My ears start telling me to turn it down once I hit -14.

I'd wager that this track is venturing into single digit territory (-9 RMS and above).

Anyway...I could go on and on, but the point I'm trying to illustrate here is that these are the things I hear that other people might not. These are (some) of the reasons that many of the musicians here might find fault with your track where other people won't.

I genuinely hope you find this post valuable -- especially since I accidentally wound up writing a novel-length response -- because my intent isn't dissuade you. Your track is by no means terrible; I like it, and I think it has a certain potential, but I also think the way it's currently structured and many of the above listed issues with the mixing/mastering prevent it from being as satisfying as it could be.

There IS a certain 'average' sort of sound to it...but that's not actually a bad thing, necessarily. With tighter production values and some more variation to it, I could easily see this being used in some sort of commercial context, for instance.

TL;DR
- More thematic relevance
- Cut down on the low end
- More variation
- More dynamic range/contrast

Good luck!


Fire the kind of AAA game you think your track would be good for, mute the game music and launch your track instead. Either it fits, either you get a good laugh and realistic feedback. WinWin.

And as far as i'm concerned, no it isn't, not yet, many times i listen to some piano track here, every note is fucking full velocity.
Makes me hit the stop button at full velocity as well.
Piano guys, make your music like its a living breathing thinking abstract creature, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!

/i dont even play piano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w-58hQ9dLk


Salut!

I create 3D art here, and you can listen to my album there! Comments/Feedback appreciated.

Merci!

BBS Signature

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 10:34:05


Hey, I'm in a similar position for you. Been making music for a few years, just recently came to Newgrounds, etc etc. I have 2 main criticisms of your piece.

1. Composition. The progression from intro to the beat, though long, at least feels like a sensible progression. There's a nice build up, but the length doesn't do it any favours in a 4 minute song. After that first beat falls back to just piano, I feel like it doesn't linearly progress anymore, it stops being a journey so much as a theme, if that makes any sense. Could be helped by just a master volume envelope, or by varying the velocity of your piano and drum hits (Some guy earlier said something about playing the piano like it's alive, which is so important).

2. Mix. It's most obvious at the intro, where all the piano notes have an odd artifact to them that sits somewhere in the bass range, but you need to EQ your instruments mercilessly. Your bass appears to have some strange frequency distortion on it as well, don't know if that's intentional because I do that sometimes, and your kick fills the whole range when you only really want it in the bass and the bottom edge of the treble for a good hit. In general, if you mix it right, the instruments will sound a bit weird on their own but perfect in the mix. It sounded like you had some panning, which is good, but consider panning your main instruments (Apart from bass and kick) out a bit more to give it some depth.

TL;DR Intro too long, lack of "Journey" structure, work on mix. Catchy melody though.


At 6/3/16 05:06 PM, Modnex wrote:
At 6/3/16 04:32 PM, midimachine wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote: Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-
you kinda just showed up asking for an in depth critique without really engaging anyone else on the site or even introducing yourself, so... :v
You're right, I didn't introduce myself and wasn't engaging in anyone else work and for that I do apologize. I am, however changing that around, as I've reviewed a few songs and images already and have responded to a few forum post too. Regardless of any of that, what you said is still no excuse for being rude to a newbie. If you felt that way, you could have just stated that in the first post you made towards me or perhaps not commented at all, if that was the case.

This site is cancer, and has been for years. People will look for a reason to hate on you regardless of how long you've been here.

Your track sounds fine. If you're shooting for gold; maybe not so much. You DONT have to be professional to be a good musician. Do what sounds good to you, and what gives you the most joy. That's what music is all about. Your skills are more likely to get better if you're having fun.


Been here since '03 and less than 1,000 posts

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 12:30:36


Tweaking the EQ on some of your instruments is a skill you could work on though :D


Been here since '03 and less than 1,000 posts


TL;DR
- More thematic relevance
- Cut down on the low end
- More variation
- More dynamic range/contrast

Good luck!

Thank you for taking the time to review this track thoroughly. All of the points you made are valid and I will take everything into consideration. When I first started making music, I was only doing it as a hobby. With that in mind, none of the songs I made during this period, was ever meant to be taken so seriously. Half of the songs, including this one was made within a day of starting. Its not until recent, that I've started taking my music really seriously. I've always wanted to see my music in a huge project, but still classified myself as a hobbyist. I guess that's a bit unrealistic and pathetic, but its the unfortunate truth.

Now that I'm starting to take my music more seriously, I can hear the mixing issues and other issues like most musicians can, that I've never heard when I first was making it. I guess this is due to a change in direction. The mixing issues never bothered me before, as the music was made to fulfill my boredom, but in a weird way, hoping to give other people fulfillment and joy from listening to my creations. With that in mind, it begs me to bring up the question that maybe someone here can answer.

As musicians we often try to focus on the small details within the sound engineering process, such as the mixing, the mastering, the levels, and etc. But, has it ever occurred to you or any other musicians out there, that the little details are not that important, as a normal listener (non-musician) doesn't even know the difference between a good mix, a bad mix, a good master a bad master or ANY of the things that we as musicians work on years to perfect? I guess what I'm trying to ask, is if the little details doesn't stop a normal listener from listening or liking a track, why bother? Is it due, to trying to impress other musicians or perhaps fulfill a standard we as musicians have set for ourselves? As I think about this, it truly makes me wonder if its even all worth it. For example, this song that most of the musicians here have stated has a lot issues, has been downloaded 41 times, played 283 times, favored 10 times and has 16 positive comments, on another site. This alone begs me to wonder if the standards musicians live up to, is only meant to impress themselves or other musicians. As its clearly not meant for the listeners experience, as they do not hold musicians to such high standards.

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 13:48:08


At 6/5/16 12:27 PM, kenki wrote:
At 6/3/16 05:06 PM, Modnex wrote:
At 6/3/16 04:32 PM, midimachine wrote:
At 6/3/16 03:40 PM, Modnex wrote: Instead of being completely rude, you should add constructive criticism on what you believe would be the best way to fix the issues you hear. This way I can actually benefit from your comment and view you as a good Samaritan, instead of you coming off as a complete douche. -_-
you kinda just showed up asking for an in depth critique without really engaging anyone else on the site or even introducing yourself, so... :v
You're right, I didn't introduce myself and wasn't engaging in anyone else work and for that I do apologize. I am, however changing that around, as I've reviewed a few songs and images already and have responded to a few forum post too. Regardless of any of that, what you said is still no excuse for being rude to a newbie. If you felt that way, you could have just stated that in the first post you made towards me or perhaps not commented at all, if that was the case.
This site is cancer, and has been for years. People will look for a reason to hate on you regardless of how long you've been here.

Your track sounds fine. If you're shooting for gold; maybe not so much. You DONT have to be professional to be a good musician. Do what sounds good to you, and what gives you the most joy. That's what music is all about. Your skills are more likely to get better if you're having fun.

Thanks for the positive feedback. Its very nice to some positive comments on this post. As many of the other comments are taking things a little too seriously. I agree, if you're having fun, skills will improve. I mean, whats the point of making music, if its not having fun, right? I never aim for gold on anything that I do, as I believe that is an unrealistic or almost impossible standard to hold my art/music to. Its all about having fun and hopefully giving people joy, while they listen to the music.

Thanks for taking the time to leave positive feedback, much appreciated!

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 15:20:10


Thanks for the positive feedback. Its very nice to some positive comments on this post. As many of the other comments are taking things a little too seriously. I agree, if you're having fun, skills will improve. I mean, whats the point of making music, if its not having fun, right? I never aim for gold on anything that I do, as I believe that is an unrealistic or almost impossible standard to hold my art/music to. Its all about having fun and hopefully giving people joy, while they listen to the music.

Thanks for taking the time to leave positive feedback, much appreciated!

Some will dig it, some won't. Personally I hate tracks that are heavily mixed to sound professional. It's all about working on your style, and having the right audience find you. I'm not the best at making music by far, but I love doing it. Almost 30 downloads in 2 days so I figure I'm not doing too bad.


Been here since '03 and less than 1,000 posts

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 17:55:34


At 6/5/16 03:20 PM, kenki wrote: Some will dig it, some won't. Personally I hate tracks that are heavily mixed to sound professional. It's all about working on your style, and having the right audience find you.

Unfortunately, I have to completely disagree, and worryingly that that is your opinion considering the area you want to go into, games music, film music etc.

When you compose for a game, movie or other form of visual media you cannot expect the director/developers to embrace to your lack of polished style and lack of professionalism in your track, it's not as simple as 'some won't dig it'. They'll have a opinion on what they want, and they'll want the quality to be at professional level, on par with other composers.

If you create for those mediums such as a game, you're part of a post production which is a requirement to fulfill development, that doesn't stand on it's own but complements the product. And if you cannot fulfill that requirement you will be seen as incapable of achieving the professional finishing and will most likely be removed from the project without compensation. It happens, a lot. And not with small time names, but big ones, like m83 with the film Oblivion. Their sound wasn't good enough and they ended getting Anthony Gonzalez to do a lot of helping on it to get it to that 'Hollywood sound'.

There's no room for "that's my style, you're not my audience."

If you tell any developer your intent is to not sound polished and professional then you'll not be an asset worth hiring. That's certainly not how the games industry works. Your music is part of a post process which should complement the original vision. Anything other and it's not worth your time, nor theirs.


BBS Signature

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 18:16:44


Ah see that's where your missing the point modnex. Even though the average listener won't know if you high passed that synth or sidechained the bass to the kick what they will hear is that something doesn't sound right. They just won't have anyway to know/articulate what it is that makes your work lack in comparison to a professional track. Thing is there is a standard even for non musicians and non producers.

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 18:25:18


At 6/5/16 05:55 PM, PeterSatera wrote:
At 6/5/16 03:20 PM, kenki wrote: Some will dig it, some won't. Personally I hate tracks that are heavily mixed to sound professional. It's all about working on your style, and having the right audience find you.
Unfortunately, I have to completely disagree, and worryingly that that is your opinion considering the area you want to go into, games music, film music etc.

When you compose for a game, movie or other form of visual media you cannot expect the director/developers to embrace to your lack of polished style and lack of professionalism in your track, it's not as simple as 'some won't dig it'. They'll have a opinion on what they want, and they'll want the quality to be at professional level, on par with other composers.

If you create for those mediums such as a game, you're part of a post production which is a requirement to fulfill development, that doesn't stand on it's own but complements the product. And if you cannot fulfill that requirement you will be seen as incapable of achieving the professional finishing and will most likely be removed from the project without compensation. It happens, a lot. And not with small time names, but big ones, like m83 with the film Oblivion. Their sound wasn't good enough and they ended getting Anthony Gonzalez to do a lot of helping on it to get it to that 'Hollywood sound'.

There's no room for "that's my style, you're not my audience."

If you tell any developer your intent is to not sound polished and professional then you'll not be an asset worth hiring. That's certainly not how the games industry works. Your music is part of a post process which should complement the original vision. Anything other and it's not worth your time, nor theirs.

I believe your original comment was meant towards me, the original poster. But, you've commented on someone else comment. I'll answer it anyways. I believe you're 100% right when it comes to making music for the gaming industry. Music that is intended for video games have to be constructed in a way that captures the vision of game creators and tells a story. When it comes to this, I believe the focus should be leaning more towards the melodies and how well they portray the story(game), rather then focusing on trying to get that traditional sound. Games and movies music should be unique and different from other songs out there, while also portraying some of the techniques of the traditional game/movie scores. I believe the more unique the music in a project is, the more the project will stand out from its intentional competition. In these type of industries standing out is what its all about. The more you stand out, the more people will talk. The more they talk, the more popular your project gets and popularity is what every content creator wants, as we made our content for people to use and enjoy.

So that in itself is very important.


At 6/5/16 06:16 PM, 8-bitheroes wrote: Ah see that's where your missing the point modnex. Even though the average listener won't know if you high passed that synth or sidechained the bass to the kick what they will hear is that something doesn't sound right. They just won't have anyway to know/articulate what it is that makes your work lack in comparison to a professional track. Thing is there is a standard even for non musicians and non producers.

You're right, there is a standard for everyone. But those standards are completely different for non-musicians then they are for musicians. For musicians, the standards are based upon how the professionals do it. For non-musicians the standards are based upon their likes/taste. Most people like myself are getting sick of listening to the same old, same old. That is standardized music. As, all of these tracks sounds exactly the same. Unfortunately, most musicians continue to make music that has absolutely no creative spunk and sounds exactly like other songs out there. I don't know how many times I've come pass songs that sounded almost completely identical to a track I listened to just 20 minutes before. This problem is occurring more and more. The problem more than likely, is probably due to the reviews a musician gets, when he/she puts a track out there that sounds slightly different then what people are used to. Instead of individuals complimenting the musician for his efforts to be different, they overwhelm him with hateful comments. Simply because he attempted to be different. Once this happens, that musician either quits or starts trying to live up to the standards we created. In the end making another robotic piece of crap music, for people to say "Nice track bro"!


At 6/5/16 06:25 PM, Modnex wrote: I believe your original comment was meant towards me, the original poster. But, you've commented on someone else comment.

Yeah, you're right sorry. I was thrown by the fact you both didn't have avatars. My mistake.

I'll answer it anyways. I believe you're 100% right when it comes to making music for the gaming industry. Music that is intended for video games have to be constructed in a way that captures the vision of game creators and tells a story. When it comes to this, I believe the focus should be leaning more towards the melodies and how well they portray the story(game), rather then focusing on trying to get that traditional sound. Games and movies music should be unique and different from other songs out there, while also portraying some of the techniques of the traditional game/movie scores. I believe the more unique the music in a project is, the more the project will stand out from its intentional competition. In these type of industries standing out is what its all about. The more you stand out, the more people will talk. The more they talk, the more popular your project gets and popularity is what every content creator wants, as we made our content for people to use and enjoy.

So that in itself is very important.

Yeah, you're right about standing out and finding yourself, but have to be on par with everyone else. One thing you need to do though is learn from everyone else too, you have the right get go but right now it's about building your talent and ability. You're not there yet for being featured in a indie game or film, but with time you can be. Be inspired by imagery and story as you say, and let that drive you. Maybe even participate in the AIM 2016. Its a challenge which can help you focus your intention. The biggest issues ive found in your track was A. Lack of dynamics, and B. The beat felt right out of place for the topic. Your music needs to emulate the visuals. so for instance. When I think mouse, i think quick, mischievous, cute, warm. Something like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXPqkReE28


BBS Signature

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 19:12:23


At 6/5/16 03:20 PM, kenki wrote: Personally I hate tracks that are heavily mixed to sound professional.

yea i hate tracks that sound good too

Almost 30 downloads in 2 days so I figure I'm not doing too bad.

aww, bless :)


p.s. i am gay

Response to Is my track good enough for games? 2016-06-05 21:56:44


The beat felt right out of place for the topic. Your music needs to emulate the visuals. so for instance. When I think mouse, i think quick, mischievous, cute, warm. Something like this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXPqkReE28

Thanks for the positive feedback, tips, and the video. I enjoyed listening to that very much. It gave me some inspiration. That would be great if I could reach a level such as that one day, but for now, I guess I'll stick to what I know and keep learning till then.