Aero does other stuff than remixes

One of my friends has finished coding a very simple game for Facebook and asked me for a 15 seconds loop. He wanted something upbeat that still sounded like old-school consoles. Keep in mind that it is for a very, very simple game in which you control a badger (or similar critter) poking its head out of its hole and trying to dodge stones that are rolling downhill. It's a game made to be played 20-30 seconds at a time so, the song has to be short and loop easily.

This is a test my buddy Neko wrote a few years ago to test a device called a Monophonic Arpeggiator. I thought the base was good so I opened it this morning, played with it and gave it an old school game feel.

This is the result. What do you guys think?

For the sort of game you described, I think this will work pretty well. It's upbeat, sort of sounds/feels "retro" and loops easily. So I think it's pretty perfect for the purposes you need it for.

I think they both sound good, definitely capture that 8-bit vibe, but I actually like the first one better. Something about the tones is more vibrant, emphasizes the musical changes better and really gives a Mega Man vibe. The second clip is more muted, I think, but now that I think of it that might be better for a game that can be played in short spurts for a long time, the first one might be a little too "in your face" for that and drive the listener crazy, ha ha.

I feel like the second one would be more suited to a menu, and would be very good for that, but something about the tone of the first screams action. Maybe something to get a little closer to that, without being overpowering?

Actually even the second one was too intense for the client, he requested a version with diminished drums. In fact, he did ask me for a "menu" version wanting it to be as minimal as humanely possible.

So here are the final cuts that the client picked. Game loop and the menu loop

I appreciate your feedback, guys. If you guys get a kick out of my non-PS stuff, I could post more here for comments and ideas!

Hey, that's awesome that he asked for a menu version. They both sound really good, that was great work. I would love to hear more, I'm all for original music, especially VG stuff, I'm always really impressed to see people composing it, and I'd love to give feedback on it.

So I like them. I like them as when you start the game and transition from menu to game, you just add another layer of sound. Or at least that's what it sounds like to me. Well done!

Well thank you, both of you! WB, it's exactly what it is: the menu song is only the arpeggiator doing its happy thing while the game song adds drums, a bass track and a synth melody on top.


So, happy times: let's have some fun. Since this is not Phantasy Star related, I don't expect it to become the next Fringe craze, but if it entertains even one person, I'll say it's an effort well spent.

Allow me to direct you to my website. This is a short list of some of the stuff Nekoprism did over the years. There are nine songs there with four of those (labeled old school) done with our old Pre-Reason tracker so most of these aren't just old, they are venerable. We've done MUCH better things since but if you guys get a kick out of it, I'll add more. Click on "Awaken" (written in 2000), which is the "sequel" of our very first song called Sleepless Mode (From 1998-1999). It's techno it could very well fit in a video game.

Once you have listened to Awaken, answer this question: do you think that it is possible to fully remove the techno from there and orchestrate it?

Have fun!

I listened to Awaken a little earlier, and I'm checking it out again right now. I really like the part at 0:43. Very pretty, very emotional, which I think is pretty cool for techno. Techno often goes for a kind of vaguely uplifting feel, even in a minor key, it seems to me, but this almost reminds me of a kind of dark Dr. Wily Mega Man stage with some sadness in it. I like the part at around 1:38, too, really like the way the theme is built up and everything is so layered (I love that effect in music).

Overall, I found that on a casual listen there were some quiet moments that seemed empty, as the song went on, but on a closer listen I really like most of the sections in terms of their composition and general structure. I think the song rewards closer listening, it's well composed, and I don't often hear that in techno (granted, I'm not really familiar with the genre). But it does sound very VG music-like, you should totally get it in a game! It would be very cool to see you composing music for games, I would definitely check it out.

On the subject of whether it could be played orchestrally, I think it would be kind of a mixed bag. Actually, the beginning of it sounds kind of orchestral to me, even given the slightly more electronic feel and the very techno drums. But of course parts of the song are much more electronic in sound, so...I think it would take some arranging, but it could definitely be orchestrated, like I said before, it's quite well written, in my opinion.

I don't think I've ever seen my music so thoroughly described and commented, I have this huge smile on my face right now!! Thanks Bragatyr!!

It's funny that you word so well what I can only express through what I hear. I did have musical classes in high school when I was a kid but I was way too busy daydreaming to listen to the teacher AND our music classes were a jungle of screaming teenagers with recorder flutes, not much learning was done. Bottom line is, when I write music, I have no academic idea of what I'm doing, I just do what sounds right yet, you can explain it with theory. This blows my mind, every time.

So yeah, Awaken CAN be orchestrated and here is my attempt which has been an on and off project for quite a long while now. I'd say it's almost ready, lacking only a few smoother transition and some instrument equalizing/balancing. Hope you like it!

Dude, I'm listening to it right now, this is amazing. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to like the orchestrated version as much as the more electronic one, but this is truly impressing me. This song sounds like the beginning to a very epic, sweeping, grand scale RPG. Hearing it like this really brings out the subtle sense of movement I was talking about earlier, I mean, I'm all about bass and countermelodies in music, I love that kind of stuff, and this song has such a finely tuned sense of bass movement and undercurrent to it, which I think above all else gives a song a sense of depth and beauty. It's really just amazing, I think. You are a seriously talented composer. I knew you were very good at arranging music just from listening to Requiem in the Desert and A Love Song for Gwyn, but I'd never heard you handling completely original music before, so I didn't know just how much so.

I can totally relate to you on the classroom silliness, I never actually took music classes in school, except for a very silly little class in first grade, where we didn't learn anything, but I took art class in high school just to have an easy class, and I couldn't stand it! That stuff was so monotonous I got where I didn't really even draw anymore. I'm all for developing technique and understanding, but I think art's gotta come from the heart!