I think one of the things that helped keep r/synthesizers active was the automatic creation of weekly threads like “Friday Hangout”, where you could leave casual thoughts that might not feel worthy of a top-level post. So, why not try something similar here?

Consider this a trial run. If people like it, maybe we’ll make it a weekly thing. I welcome suggestions for a better title.

  • ChappIO@waveform.socialMEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    I recently joined a game development team that is in need of tons of different types of music. Level tracks, OST, action tunes.

    Any tips on managing such a big project would be greatly appreciated. I haven’t done this before and am very much a hobbyist musician. I mainly use Ableton Live.

    • surfcocktailsynthEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Make sure level tracks easily loop and provide the correct atmosphere to the game. They should be unobstrusive and leave the frequencies for SFX available.

      Make sure SFX integrate in the bgm.

      • Shadowbait@waveform.socialOPEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        Looping isn’t necessarily the only answer. I really liked Dune 2’s approach - basically shuffling through a pool of chill music when nothing much is happening, and then interrupting with one of a few “attack” tracks when combat starts. I think it kinda depends on how long levels/missions are - one looped track will eventually get old no matter how careful you are to avoid distracting/annoying parts.

        • ChappIO@waveform.socialMEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          The way I am thinking I’m going to implement this is create a chill track and an active track that play in sync. Then switch to the active one if something happens.

    • Shadowbait@waveform.socialOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      I’m in a similar boat as a solo indie dev making my own soundtrack along with everything else. I’ve made one game soundtrack before, but that’s not enough to really feel like I know what I’m doing.

      I frequently make tables and checklists to keep track of progress on things, i.e. different stages of completion like:

      • Sketch (a rough theme and maybe some accompanying parts)
      • Mockup (arranging A/B sections and so forth but they’re just copy/pasted with no variation)
      • Draft (got the general idea of the variations and full arrangement, but not polished)
      • Beta (mostly final probably, but need to check it on different speakers and probably tweak the mix/master)
      • Release candidate (I think I’m done)

      In the later stages I’ll take notes as I listen through looking for the things that stand out most I want to change, then go back and work on those things one by one. I might also have a checklist of things I want to be sure to pay attention to on every track, i.e. making sure there’s enough variation in percussion parts across the track, because I have a bad habit of making simple drum loops and forgetting to spice it up if I don’t have that reminder.