Wow ok have fun winning the NIM contest :<
This is too good ><
Reviews for "Fantasiamaailma"
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Hahah, thank you. We are very proud of the track, and it be amazing to win one of the 3 spots. That said, there is a lot of other competition, including your two tracks, so we'll see what the judges decide. I have a feeling that more greatness will be submitted this coming month as well!
I think that we'd be happy as long as we get the track on the album, but winning would always be an extra surprise :3
Seriously though... You've heard Mattashi's track, right? o.O
Holy shiiiiit, this is awesome you guys! This deserves to be in the top 3, hell even first place!
There's so much going on in this piece it's insane. If this were ever used as title music I think it would take me a long while to finally decide and press "start" to play xD
My favorite section was the part starting around 2:24 when the song starts to pick up a bit it sounds so Adventurous and Fantasy-like, love the piano sounds definitely like Lucid's work :) and then with the strings staccato and the choir that sounds like dem0lecule xD I love the blending of your styles together.
This is really beautiful work, makes me want to do a colab with you guys!
I don't know what else to say since I can't give you guys any criticism, loved every bit of it.
TAKE TEH DAMN TROPHY ALREADY xD
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Hooooly shit those are some awesome compliments (｡◕‿‿◕｡); totally blushing while reading this, and I'm sure dem0lecule was happy too. It's a shame that only one of us can reply to reviews :p
There sure is a lot going on here. We were thinking of making it even longer, but I'm going on a two week long vacation to Cyprus tomorrow, so we figured we should probably finish it up before that XD
Basically, the beginning of the track is a bit simpler/smaller, so that a player could choose to start the game if they wanted to, and the rest of the piece is there more as a surprise reward for those who wait and listen, I guess :D (That is what I would think if I was a developer for a game that'd use this track).
2:24 is really where the track picks up its pace (literally, as the tempo increases to 160 bpm). But who would've thought that I had 0% to do with that specific piano part XD
Apart from some of the obvious parts, like the solo piano intro that is of my making, and the percussion that is clearly dem0lecules, it can be difficult to tell who did what (for example, I made parts of the choir too). But dem0lecule stood for all the intruments and mixing in the end, because he is both better at that than me, and has far better intruments.
We both think it was an amazing experience to collaborate, and we'll definitely do it again. It really opened up some new possibilities for the both of us :D
"This is really beautiful work, makes me want to do a collab with you guys!"
=> OMG yes. That'd be like the most amazing thing ever o.O!!
Thank you a lot for the extremely positive and nice review. It means the world coming from you :D
I'm still sure you'll be in the top 3. We would be lying if we didn't admit that we were greatly inspired to work harder when we heard the greatness of your track ;)
Thank you and good luck, Mattashi! :3
Now there you go.....
I am just truly captivated in this piece. I think you both have shown your finest skills and musicmanship in this piece which can be easily designated as a winner in this competition.
I want to give my 2 cents from a game's perspective basically. The start is slow which can be imagined as camera moving in different directions showing the chaos and then there is a gradual build up which is the preparation of some action, just right where it is needed. Like Matt said, I can also recognise dem0le's signature spiccs and a flow to rush in your adrenaline for some action, i.e., you know here starts the actual game. I am amazed how much going on in the piece which literally requires only a high level musician to do. You cannot just pinpoint one thing; there is lot and lot...Point is this piece can be a perfect blend in any game whether light or epic, just try it.
It deserves it place in top three. Hell, @RealFaction, I will bribe you sucker :D
Congrats to you both for giving NG this top notched composition to listen. Rejoice!
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Whoo, thank you Emid! Dem0lecule says hi :3
We definitely tried our hardest and put in tons of effort and time into this. I'm sure that a lot of great tracks will be posted in the month that is to come! Maybe you will participate too ;D?
That moving camera visual is great! It would look amazing, especially if the art/visual department was good :O
Yeah, dem0 is definitely responsible for the spiccato action XD
We definitely see it as the "real" start of what is happening. That is also part of the reason why we let the transition remain so noticable.
I kind of like the effect in some tracks where there is a lot of things one could focus on, and the track sounds a bit different depending on what apect you're listening to. A melody, the backing melody, chords, percussion, etc.
Some of the more epic parts are really crammed with all of those things :3
Down side is that you can lose some simplicity, but that is why we also have parts like 1:17, for people who like a clear and beautiful melody, as well as to paint the full picture.
Thank you a lot for listening and for reviewing, Emid! Dem0lecule said he blushed while reading this, and so did I :')
This is a bit different than what I expected from your earlier posts in the discussion thread but in a good way ;) It´s beautiful and there is so much going on in this piece, damn. You could really follow a fairytale in your head while listening to this. Furthermore, it´s flawlessly produced (the whole 6 mins...). Maybe I wouldn´t have looped because then the piece would settle a bit after the end.
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
We're glad to hear you like it even if it is different from what you at first imagined :D
It's also nice to see that this track gives birth to imagery and a story of some kind!
Thank dem0lecule for most of the production! I only affected it by suggesting changes here and there, but he is really the master behind all that :)
Well, this is menu music, so it kinda has to loop. But for the reason you menioned, we decided to make the pause before the loop several seconds long. The loop also has symbolic meaning :3
Thank you a lot for listening, and for leaving your thoughts!!!
Huh, funny. I had just randomly came across one of Dem0lecule's tracks a couple of days ago, and I remember liking it a lot. I love the emotion and the instruments. The quality of the string samples is very high. Beautiful work with the progression and phrasing. Some of the transitions are a little sudden, such as the one at 1:53 with the bell. You also change moods pretty quickly there too, and it starts sounding especially dark after 2:00 or so. Sometimes the strings cut off a little suddenly, as is common with string samples in my experience. I would suggest a) using a little more reverb and b) creating tiny volume automations just to help those exposed last notes of some of the riffs "tail off" a bit, if you know what I mean. However, I love the vocals at around 3:00, and I think in general you've accomplished a very full texture and complex sound design here. Well done! The (music box?) at 3:35 is also very well-incorporated. You used a wide variety of instruments that ultimately combine very nicely. I also love the pizzicatos around 4:25, as well as the flute at 4:35. Despite the variety and climatic/cinematic nature of this piece, I feel like it would've been good to make it sound more coherent. I'm sure if I saw the score I would be able to pick out some repetition across the parts, but as a casual listener it's hard to string together the structure, especially with only one listen. That said, it has an appropriately dramatic finish and an excellent mood and energy to it. Great work, both of you! ^_~ I'll be adding this to my favorites, er...NOW! :D
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Thank you for the long review, Andrew!
Yeah, dem0lecule makes really good and high quality music. I think he used different 8dio for most of the strings, but I can't tell you for sure :)
Interesting thing about the bell at 1:53 is that it accidentally starts 1/16 of a measure too early. But I've come to like it, as it catches the listener off guard and brings them back to the track, in case they were just casually listening.
The quick mood changes are for the most part intentional, just like if you were telling a story and suddenly something new happens.
As for the strings cutting off, I kind of get what you mean. I don't mind when listening, but if I'm trying to read into it, I can hear that a little bit. I don't think more reverb is a good idea, but if it could be made to sound realistic/good, the automation fade could be useful at some points. I've used it myself here and there is the past :)
As for the choirs, I think they're incredible. Dem0lecule got the library very recently, and it sounds brilliant, and is well used!
If I remember correctly, 3:35 is actually a harp, a glock and a xylophone playing slightly different things at the same time!
You can thank dem0 for 4:20 :)
Originally, he had the piano play that, but for the sake of variety he changed it up.
I get what you mean with the coherency. For the most part, this is a track about evolving and moving forward (I guess that in a way, you could say it's progressive, hehhe), and aside from that, it is essentially a loop. This means we definitely didn't want to make it too repetive. But that said, we have places where things repeat, which I'm sure you would've noticed more upon relistening.
The one that is easiest to notice, is the flute at 1:17, the piano at 2:08 (I think that the melody could almost be louder here, but then again, the choir is beautiful to listen to as well), and the choir at 3:02, which hints at the same melody.
I would've originally included the melody in some adaptation in two more places, but it didn't fit entirely there, and I didn't want to force it.
But aside from that, there are a lot of other places that feature some repetition.
Listen to the brass at 3:11 for example, as well as the brass at 4:09.
Aside from melodies, there are a lot of places in the rhythm and backing elements that repeat. One is the piano at 2:26 and the pizzicato you mentioned at 4:18.
I could go on to name other spots too, but I'm sure it's more fun to listen for yourself :)
You're very right though, there is perhaps not much coherency in the in the traditional sense featured in this composition :p
Thanks a lot for your constructive review, and thank you for listening and favoriting :D
I hope to hear more of your stuff once you get time to make some more ;)