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Looking for feedback? I know I am (Forums : Recruiting & Resumes : Looking for feedback? I know I am) Locked
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Jun 30 2015 Anchor

Hi guys,

When you spend the majority of your time developing yourself as a composer and musician, it starts to become difficult to determine whether you're actually improving or going around in circles, especially in a subjective field like music (or anything creative for that matter).

So that being the case I'm going to post a link to my portfolio on soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/quizon/sets/soundtracks) and I'd really love it if you were to have a listen to some tracks and hit me up with any feedback that you can muster, either as posts here or as comments on soundcloud, and I suggest if you're another budding composer looking for feedback to do the same with your own portfolio in a post below.

I get a semi looking at other peoples compositions and works but I don't have the soundcloud prowess to filter through all of the chart remixes and major motion picture soundtracks that come up as search results.

I'm kind of hoping to get a sweet response here, hopefully we can all help each other out a bit

Edited by: vcxzgfdagfs

Jul 1 2015 Anchor

First, thanks for starting this thread. I’ve been lurking here for a bit, but didn’t really want to just post my stuff into the void. I’ve only recently started trying to make music specifically for games, so I’m still in the figuring out stages and this type of interaction is exactly what I want.

So, to your jams:

To my ear, the productions values are great.

I think the wide range of sounds and instruments do a lot to make the tracks usable in a lot of different genres/visual styles. I’m not suggesting that they’re generic, either. I think they’re both straightforward and open-ended. Often, some of my favorite characters in games are ones that you can project a lot onto as the player. To me these tracks have a bit of that quality to them.

“Electric” was definitely my favorite. It reminded me of the FTL soundtrack, which is some of my favorite recent game music. If you pursued any direction with this stuff, that’s what I’d like to hear more of.

In terms of criticism, I think I’d be interested in hearing something a little different sonically. There is something similar about all the tracks, as though they could all be from the same project. Maybe include some non-digital instruments in the future (unless they’re in there and I just missed them?). That said, some might even consider the similarity advantageous because it means you have consistency and your own voice, but there is something to be said for surprising the listener, too.

I also felt like I could do without the piano sound in a lot of the tracks (excluding "Shenanigans"), but that’s more personal taste than anything. It just adds a layer of sentimentality that doesn’t always need to be there for me, but I know a lot of people like it.

Hope this was the type of interaction you were looking for. The URL for my soundcloud is below. Like I said, I’m just getting started, but I’d be grateful if you gave me your impressions.

My music: Soundcloud.com

Edited by: TheArsNotoria

Jul 1 2015 Anchor

Dude, nailed it.

I really appreciate the feedback, you made some awesome points that are definitely worth taking into consideration. I'm planning to feature more acoustic instruments in the recordings, the only issue is buying a nice condenser mic. I've got a beta 57A but it'll be good to have something that actually captures the full room/environment sound so I can feature whatever sound I record as a main instrument.

Good point about the piano too! I think I probably will write a couple tunes in the electric vein, it's fun and there's definitely a lot of usability to the feels, so the two kind of go hand in hand.

I had a listen to your tunes too, it's good to hear some retro tunes with so much character! Your approach to composition is great, it really feels like there's been a lot of thought put into the more ambient tracks like day 3 and day 5, there's a lot of movement and progression in there. Feels all over. And the sound of the percussion in day 3? Mwa.

I think overall though my favourite would have to be koto. Such a sweet, sleazy groove and harmonically it moves really well. You could use it anywhere from a main theme, shop music, overworld grooves to exit music.

I think with theme it would be great to have that main melody kick in after one round of the intro rather than two, purely because I think themes are generally more memorable when they hit the ground running (or walking and admiring the surroundings in this case). But saying that it's very likely that it might have been more suited to the project by having two rounds, e.g if there was a short cinematic before the title appeared or what have you.

Other than that I think there a few points in Dungeon that it would have been nice to have the melody phrased with a few more breathers, i think phrasing is especially important when you've got sounds as harsh as 8-bit can tend to be. But once again harmonically it's great. It has that nice dungeon tenseness about it that's similar to nes zelda or mario dungeons. Especially in the middle section where the melody gets arpeggiated, I actually love that section.

Overall I don't have much feedback for you other than those couple of nitty gritty points. Those 5 tracks have a very retro feel about them, so if you're after work for some 2d indie games, you've definitely hit the nail on the head.

Also on a side note, have you played titan souls? I think that game is in a similar vein to your styling and is packed full of inspirado

Jul 2 2015 Anchor

I listend to "Platformer" and "Though Poverty." Both seem really well produced, maybe a bit low mid heavy (could be bias, I am super sensitive to that frequency of sound). Platformer sounds like something I would hear in a game where I am running around doing stuff in a Sci-Fi environment. In Though Poverty, the strings sound like they are from a library at some points. I really enjoy the piano intro though. I think you should try your hand at a big orchestral score, unless you did past the few I listened to. Anyway, really enjoyed the music. I am gonna link some of my recent stuff:

Adrift with music I made, some of the pads are kinda sound designy: Youtube.com

Horror game menu music: Soundcloud.com


Edited by: iCompose

etherflows
etherflows Ether: A catalytic agent in the making of stardust
Jul 2 2015 Anchor

Hi Quoozie,

Listened to your playlist on soundcloud. Straight away my girlfriend perked up, Platformer (Moderato Intenso), and asked who was playing.

The dirty grain in Seasons Beatings is nice however the track is too short.

From a gaming point of view, I thought Sonder would make a nice Journeying or Peace Time music. Its is non-intrusive with a slight fluffiness, hopefulness and suggests progress. The track that follows Electric fits with it or could be said to develop out of it from a listeners point of view.

We listened to the whole lot without switching it off so thats an extra thumbs up.

Your music has a lot of quietness, something that western game developers have overlooked the importance of in gaming, something that is certainly in need. Much of your music would be useful to RPG and JRPG or space sims.


--

ecode logo long

Jul 2 2015 Anchor

Glad my feedback was well received! I totally agree that finding the right mic is crucial. My gear is definitely not up to snuff and I constantly find myself adding reverb or other post-fx to my acoustic recordings to try and compensate and I think it shows.

I am looking to work primarily on 2d/retro games so your comment is encouraging. Thanks for all the kind words about my stuff as well as the constructive points. The point about the intro to "theme" is especially valuable. There's a slight change in the 2nd round of the intro but I agree with you that it's probably not significant enough to warrant the 2nd go. So I probably either need to cut it like you suggest or add more and build up to the change to make it worth it.

I also agree that the dungeon jam can be a bit much on the ears. It was made for an ios runner-style game, so I think I was trying to keep the energy high, but some space to breathe might be good for the player anyway since they're dealing with such high-stress gameplay at all times.

I have played Titan Souls, but only when it was in its freeware form. I really need to try the fully realized one because I liked the original a lot.

quoozie wrote:

Dude, nailed it.

I really appreciate the feedback, you made some awesome points that are definitely worth taking into consideration. I'm planning to feature more acoustic instruments in the recordings, the only issue is buying a nice condenser mic. I've got a beta 57A but it'll be good to have something that actually captures the full room/environment sound so I can feature whatever sound I record as a main instrument.

Good point about the piano too! I think I probably will write a couple tunes in the electric vein, it's fun and there's definitely a lot of usability to the feels, so the two kind of go hand in hand.

I had a listen to your tunes too, it's good to hear some retro tunes with so much character! Your approach to composition is great, it really feels like there's been a lot of thought put into the more ambient tracks like day 3 and day 5, there's a lot of movement and progression in there. Feels all over. And the sound of the percussion in day 3? Mwa.

I think overall though my favourite would have to be koto. Such a sweet, sleazy groove and harmonically it moves really well. You could use it anywhere from a main theme, shop music, overworld grooves to exit music.

I think with theme it would be great to have that main melody kick in after one round of the intro rather than two, purely because I think themes are generally more memorable when they hit the ground running (or walking and admiring the surroundings in this case). But saying that it's very likely that it might have been more suited to the project by having two rounds, e.g if there was a short cinematic before the title appeared or what have you.

Other than that I think there a few points in Dungeon that it would have been nice to have the melody phrased with a few more breathers, i think phrasing is especially important when you've got sounds as harsh as 8-bit can tend to be. But once again harmonically it's great. It has that nice dungeon tenseness about it that's similar to nes zelda or mario dungeons. Especially in the middle section where the melody gets arpeggiated, I actually love that section.

Overall I don't have much feedback for you other than those couple of nitty gritty points. Those 5 tracks have a very retro feel about them, so if you're after work for some 2d indie games, you've definitely hit the nail on the head.

Also on a side note, have you played titan souls? I think that game is in a similar vein to your styling and is packed full of inspirado

Jul 2 2015 Anchor

Adrift with music I made, some of the pads are kinda sound designy: Youtube.com

Horror game menu music: Soundcloud.com

iCompose!

Thanks for the feedback, glad you enjoyed the tunes. Almost all of the instruments I use are tweaked VSTI's that are made for ableton, so those strings you're hearing definitely aren't legit.

I gave those two tracks a few whurls, with the music for Adrift you definitely captured a sense of building tension while fostering the curiosity of the player (or viewer in this case) in a way that's contextually suitable. You can tell you've spent some time with those pads too, they're textually rich and sound amazing. Like a blend of strings, choir and grainy goodness. I enjoyed the mood change as the final airlock opens as well, it introduced the grim wreckage in open space quite well. Saying that though, I think it would be nice to hear a bit more movement from those sine wave arpeggios, if they were to ascend in a way similar to the the epic pads just as the final airlock is approached, it would place a bit more emphasis that there is something to expect and look out for when the door opens, giving it a bit more impact when the wreckage is introduced.

Speaking of those sine arps too, I thought the way you shared the melody between them and ended the phrase with two percussive bleeps sounded awesome. Very space station indeed.

My only other note for that track is that I thought the kick drum might have been a bit pointy in context of the rest of the music and the floaty ambience. I like the idea of a kick where it is, but maybe a more distance sounding woofy/timpani-esque kick would be great. You probably don't want it to be too heavy on the lows if that was the case though, I like the sub that's droning through that section.

The horror game menu music had a great theme about it. The cello and string arps in the introduction are almost hallowing until the eerie kicks in with the main glock melody and everything starts progressing as an ambient horror piece. Melodically and harmonically I really enjoyed the way the menu music moved, it's definitely something I'd be admiring while I waited to start a game and fiddled through options. The only think I noticed was that a touch more rhythmic dissonance wouldn't go astray and might add some more character to the piece.

All in all though, I think both of the tunes are awesome and definitely encompass the moods that are meant to be conveyed. Keen to hear/see some more trailers/tunes from you!


Jul 3 2015 Anchor

Hey iCompose, I thought the Adrift trailer stuff worked really well, too. I had actually seen that trailer before, but it was on my phone and I didn't have the sound on, so yours was the first time I had seen it with audio. Afterwards I went and checked out the original trailer with sound this time, and I'd say you did a pretty awesome job making your stuff lay with the preexisting mix, because when watching yours initially, I wasn't able to pick out what was your stuff and what was theirs. It develops really well and builds the tension, but never overruns what's already there. Great mood/atmosphere and subtle science-fiction sounds.

I also agree with quoozie that distancing that kick drum might add to the ambience a little bit.

My music: Soundcloud.com


iCompose wrote:


Adrift with music I made, some of the pads are kinda sound designy: Youtube.com

Horror game menu music: Soundcloud.com


Edited by: TheArsNotoria

Jul 7 2015 Anchor

Wow. These are fantastic. And "Michael's Cane" (which sounds like Michael Caine, one of my favorite actors haha) is incredibly beautiful and moving and I love it. The other stuff is fantastic so far.

What do you use to make these?

Jul 8 2015 Anchor

What do you use to make these?

Thanks Phantasmagoria! All of the tunes are made with ableton, and almost all of the instruments are VSTi's. Most of the time when I'm recording them I'll either be on my piano or ableton push.

Stoked to hear that you dig!

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