Settlers VII Debut Trailer Music
Ubisoft’s Settlers VII debut trailer by Fabrikfilm. Hope you enjoy the music, and please feel free to read about the musical themes below.
The music features two main themes that enhance the contrast between the battle and gameplay scenes in the trailer. For the scenes where the players are enjoying the game, a predominantly D ‘lydian’ theme takes over -- featuring the #4 (G#). The theme appears mostly in mid-range violins and shapes itself out of the orchestral texture.
For the army scenes, a minor mode battle theme takes over. The theme is also based in ‘d’ but it’s developed through common-tone chord progressions. Between the two appearances of the battle themes, the very same melody is used as an accompaniment figure for the bright horn+violin melody. The mood shifts in the trailer allowed me to work closely with the themes, as they work to guide and pace the action.
You’re also welcome to check out the trailer on gametrailers.com here. And here are the notated themes for reference.
Draw Race 2: Game Soundtrack
Draw Race 2 was just recently announced by the Finnish developer RedLynx. The game has been received extremely well by the critics and players alike. It has a 5-star rating with over 1k votes just in the US. I even get the occasional email from players commenting about the music, which obviously makes my day. Through the video embedded below you’ll be able to get a good taste of the music. Definitely go play the game if you get the chance.
Here’s a brief excerpt from the piano theme. Full solo piano sheet music coming soon!
SimBin's STCC Trailer
I’ve recently had the chance to work with SimBin on their new trailer for STCC2. If you’re a racing games fan, you know who SimBin are, they make some seriously kick-ass games. I hope you enjoy the rock-orchestral feel to the music.
Rogue Sky: Game Soundtrack
Player Quotes:
“Usually you see people wishing they could have their own music as an option. Not here, the soundtrack is one of the best game soundtracks I've ever heard. I find myself even humming it in the shower! “
“The music alone is worth getting the game.”
“Where it really shines is the soundtrack, which sounds like Howard Shore meets the 90s indie band Morphine.”
Rogue Sky is an immensely enjoyable game published by Chillingo and developed by Pebble Bug Studios. As you can see from the art-style we have a “badass” hot air balloon throwing some weight around. I’ve written a fun, ‘comically dark’ soundtrack for it. More detail about the music to follow but the trailer will give you a great preview for what to expect.
Hulk Hogan's Main Event
Hulk Hogan’s Main Event is a wrestling game for Xbox Kinect. The main character theme increases in detail and power as the player rises from a small arena to the grand stage. The music also has this ‘raw’ feel which gives the game a pretty cool tone.
RedBull Rail Kombat
Are you ready for an old-school, over-the-top, video-game-style take on snowboarding? Here’s a great web-piece produced by Tytan for RedBull. It features Mortal Kombat stylized fighting combined with some very cool snowboarding moves. The music was so much fun to write, I think you’ll be able to hear how much I enjoyed composing it. There’s a four-note octatonic theme that the music is built around. I’ll be posting the notation for it, and notes about where it appears. Enjoy!
SNL: The Game
Saturday Night Live: The Game was developed by Discovery Bay Games and is out on the appstore! I provided the music and sound design for the game. The sound design is derived from the jazz elements present in the main music. The cool, jazzy musical flourishes help along with the short animations throughout the game. This was my first time working with jazz elements and I’m so happy with how it turned out. Hope you enjoy playing it!
Warsoup: Upcoming Soundtrack
I’m happy to announce that Moon Studios recently released the ‘first-look’ for Warsoup. The game has been showcased on a lot of the major gaming sites and feedback has been very positive. I’ve spent the last couple of months exchanging various musical ideas with the director and it’s looking like it’s going to be one of my biggest highlights of 2011. Here’s the sneak peek at the first footage:
You may also check out one of the rough, in-progress concepts here: Warsoup Concept MP3. One of the things we’ll be focusing on is creating a great and memorable theme for the game. I’ll be sure you keep you updated on our progress. The music in the above video is one of my creations as well.
Shop-n-Spree Family Fortune: Game Soundtrack
Shop-n-Spree: Family Fortune, developed by Viqua Games, has been recently released! I’ve provided the music for the game. It’s really nice to see the game debut with some very positive reviews. The score features some cool instruments like the muted harp, muted classical guitar and some processed lead elements from EastWest’s Fab Four collection -- a very cool library featuring classic Beatles guitars and sounds. The music is quite melodic, up-beat and appropriately layered for the game. I hope you get a chance to try out the demo!
Gemini Wars Debut Teaser
Here’s the notated theme, it first comes in its full form at 0:36:
arcada mia: Game Soundtrack
arcada mia is an upcoming casual game currently being developed by Mousechief. They are the developers of the award-winning Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble! It has been a great amount of fun working on the project and I’m happy to announce that we’ve recently released a preview of the music. You may check it out here:
arcada mia Medley
As we get closer to the release (early 2011), I’ll be posting some notated melodies. There’s a lot of cool modal writing in the music and I’m looking forward to sharing the details. The awesome art-work by Bill Stoneham.
Little Things: Game Soundtrack
The game was a joy to work on due to its unique atmospheric vibe. The harmonic language features all major chords with bVI chords and some interesting applied chords. Instrumentation is also unique to the game as it features harp harmonics, subtle electronic percussion, and a muted string section. The celesta was also a prominent color instrument that helps the mood. I hope you download and enjoy the game!
Little Things: “Little Things is a game where atmosphere is everything and everything contributes to that atmosphere. Minimal keyboards serve as music, and there are only the slightest hints of sound effects, but both of these pair with the graphical style to enhance the total impact of the game.” - 148Apps
“It's hard to overlook the spectacular audio/visual package in this game” - JohnB at jayisgames.com
Zombie Escape: iPhone Game
Zombie Escape is an exciting game recently created by Viqua Games. It was previewed on Touch Arcade recently and received a very positive response from the audience. The game features cartoonish gameplay where the player must escort remaining non-zombie residents to evac helicopters.
The music features a combination of dangerous military percussion and a comic theme. I could not resist using a slight touch of the organ to play the comic melody. Even the marimba makes a brief appearance. The music can be heard in the above trailer.
Fussballfan.de Spot
In another collaboration with Fabrikfilm, I’ve composed the music for the opening of EA fussballfan.de’s new web TV series. I’ve played quite a bit of FIFA so this was especially exciting. As you may know, I usually write orchestral music, but for this, we went with the rock approach. Proud to say that they use this intro for all the episodes.
Victorian Mysteries: Woman in White
“...the music is subtle and spooky, evoking just the right amount of dread." - GameZebo
“It is also accompanied by a haunting soundtrack and great voice-acting that all blend together to make you feel like you're really living the mysteries in this 19th century novel.” - Steven H. Ng
Woman in White is a recently released game developed by Freeze Tag. The eerie game features a longing main theme that is stated throughout the game by various different instruments including the solo violin, celesta, flute, and piano. The chromatic theme is first heard in the menu while played by the lonely violin.
The protagonist is a piano teacher. As a result, for the hidden-object scenes, we decided to go with pensive solo piano pieces. I had imagined the player sitting at the piano and just quietly thinking and playing the piano at the same time. If you’d like to hear some of the music from the game, please feel free to either download it, or listen to the Mystery demo reel. Lot of the music from the game features in it.
The Mystery Demo Reel MP3
Travels with Gulliver: Game Soundtrack
Travels with Gulliver is an exciting match-3 adaptation of the classic by Jonathan Swift -- recently published by Big Fish Games. The game covers the first book of Gulliver’s Travels in Lilliput. The music works to express the adventurous and comical nature of the story. Flutes, clarinets and oboes dominate the melodic material, while there is also frequent use of horns to express the adventurous spirit.
Melodic ideas are often expressed briskly and playfully. The lines sometimes enter into simple call-and-answer counterpoint, and mostly move step-wise. The harmonic language is also quite simple as the dominant-tonic relationship is used heavily to outline a more classical feeling. You’re more than welcome to check out the menu theme mp3 below.
Main Theme MP3
Conquest of the Coastlands: Game Soundtrack
Conquest of the Coastlands has been a lot of fun to work on. It’s basically an educational role-playing game, I’d recommend reading about how they fuse the role-playing elements with the educational elements on their website, here.
I was asked to provide the in-game music for the project. The harmonic language is quite simple, I used a few secondary dominants, but the usual I, IV, V, vi, III, ii (no vii of course) chords appear all over. The chord progressions move pretty slowly as the instruments work through patterns for some time before moving to another chord. This always helps establish a nice atmospheric vibe. The score is fully orchestrated and features a lot of decorative harp sections. I even had the opportunity of using a Bansuri with some cool musical ‘turns’ for a nice and smooth tribal feel for the temple track.
The game is currently in development, but it shouldn’t be too long until its release. It was a pleasure working on the project as everyone was prompt and professional with their feedback and input.
Rune Memory: iPhone Game Soundtrack
Rune Memory is set in a relaxing ‘celtic’ garden. The music was a lot of fun to write, as I had to do some research about the characteristics of celtic music. The meter is 3/4 and features the mixolydian mode (the major with the lowered 7th scale degree). I made sure to pick chords that feature the distinctive lowered seventh note in order to give it a convincing celtic character.
The instrumentation features the harp as the main melodic instrument and full string and brass section for cinematic sections of the track. I also added a touch of bagpipes. I hope you enjoy the game and the music, it’s available in the app store now!
Solar Basic: Game Soundtrack
Solar Basic is a casual game that features fun and relaxed space gameplay. The trick is to catch the right kind of shape and color every time the sun emits flares. The vibe of the game is relaxed due to the pleasant graphics and the ambient space music. The music features a choir, various pads and a heavily processed vibe mostly patterned in ninth chords.
Solar Gameplay
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Astronauts: iPhone Game Soundtrack
Astronauts is a blast of game that is available in the appstore. You're an astronaut charged with a mission of collecting floating fuel. We went for ambient music that gives the game a nice and enjoyable vibe. The sound you will hear is actually a lot of envelope manipulation to create the smooth and spacey tones.
iStronaut MP3
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Manta: Game Soundtrack
Manta is a blow-em-to-pieces fun experience full of explosions. The soundtrack for Manta was an interesting project, as I tried to deviate from the usual electronic music one finds in space-shooters. The instrumentation is mostly percussive an the timpani is the most prominent sound in the game. Forte trombone sections appear throughout the soundtrack to add grit and edge. Heavy staccato cello action does the same with a different color. The game is a ton of fun and I've had the advantage of playing it while composing. Here are a couple of samples from the game:
The game took home the following Special Recognition awards at the UA 2008:
-Vehicle/Racing
-Action
Visit the website for trailer and a taste of gameplay:
http://loewald.com/manta/
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Sphaira: Game Soundtrack
Sphaira is a casual game where you are able to roll the ball around and ride through creative environments. It is an entry to the Unity Awads 2008 and we have high hopes for it. I decided to for a cartoony feel as the graphics suggest. There are few 'electronic' sounds in the music. Some of the dominant instruments include the trumpet, piano, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and jazz guitar.
Orange Isles
Menu
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Greysoul: Game Soundtrack
Greysoul is an RPG built in chapters, using an episodic model. The game concept makes use of this structure to tell varied stories fro the point of view of different protagonists. The soundtrack has been a lot of fun to write, it is the darkest project I've worked on and I have had a lot of freedom in its composition. The string section is the predominant sound in the soundtrack, the harp is brought in at various points to re-enforce the mood with dark melodies. I put emphasis on simplicity, and it help form a soundtrack that features a solid background mood.
Grey Citadel
Tomb of Cal'Amir
Hall of Elders
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Legendary Kingdom Tactics: Game Soundtrack
LKT is a turn-based strategy game where you are able to hand-pick your army and battle other players 1-on-1 online. The music is orchestral, with fantasy elements introduced with harp and alto flute. I used the french oboe as a dominant melodic instrument and was please with how the sound fit the environment. The music is reactive to the length of the battle, and it goes from calm to medium-intense to intense to match the progress. Game is available for play at http://lktonline.com
Theme
Grasslands Gameplay
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Trivial: iPhone Game
The game is a Who Wants to be a Millionaire style trivial challenge for the iPhone. I had to create three tracks that fit the difficulty of the question, matched the other two tracks, didn't distract the player from answering the question and yet added a healthy emotional dose for the player. It took a little bit of research to get a good feel for this type of music and it was interesting gearing the frequency of the audio to the frequency of the iPhone speakers.
The music is timed to the events happening during game-play, at 15 seconds, one of the four answers goes away and the intensity heightens, at 25 seconds the third answer goes away and that's where there are only two choices left and some intense orchestral strings come in to augment the rush. Game is available in the appstore.
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
El Ementrix: Game Soundtrack
El Ementrix is an ambitious Dutch RPG project that I am excited to be a part of. I was provided with screenshots of the game's beautiful scenery and was given the freedom to come up with music that would effectively enhance the scenic environment. The music is all tonal and 'light orchestral,' there are few 'full orchestra' moments, the instrumentation uses a lot of solo woodwinds in combination with a string section chord base. The flute is used extensively to enhance the strings and the clarinet carries a lot of simple tonal melodies that set a nice mood.
City
Cave
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
The Rogue Prince: Game Theme
The Rogue Prince is an RPG/Adventure game in development. The story is about the journey of a roguish, young man and the theme below is an expression of the development of his character: a modest start evolves into heroism while still retaining the humble, romantic beginnings. This is one of the first projects done with my new sound library and I had a lot fun composing it. Enjoy!
Rogue Prince Theme
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Double 00 Zero: Game Soundtrack
Double 00 Zero is a game demo being developed with Unity engine and Cinema 4D. The gam features a dark apocalyptic feel and lots of firepower. It's futuristic and eerie. The musical ideas went through quite an evolution, starting from heavy metal frenzy and ending with dark background choirs for the game-play. The menu track is ambient, but detailed with lots of meticulous effects and precise automation. Here's a sample from the game:
00 Menu Track
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Project Weasel: Game Soundtrack
Project Weasel is an adventure game and space exploration for all ages. It is the only game featuring space-faring pirate hunting asteroid mining smuggling psychic weasels ever made. The music for weasel is a mix of many different styles including the casual happy style for the calm sections and more electronic tracks for the tense moments. Lot of the sounds come from the great Albino 3 synth.
Hyperspace
Netraltonics
Suspensful
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Ascension: Game Soundtrack
Ascention, is a FPSZ shooter experience made by Renwerx Studios. The music features dark beats that sets the technologically dark mood for the player. Percussion samples in the music come from a recent trip to the studio to get my own signature percussion library, many thanks to Alex Cohen for sitting with me for a few hours, banging on things. The samples were then pt though the Impulse in Ableton Live. It was a really fun project to work on.
Ascension Time
Red Blinking Light
7th Round
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.
Darklife 2: Game Soundtrack
Darklife 2 is a game in SecondLife. It is a MMORPG, features creatively designed mosnters, areas and quests. Below you find three tracks from the game, enjoy! Darklife 2 was my first game soundtrack job and got me going on the road to developing music for games. It was a challenge and a blast working on it.
Dark Castle
Home City Theme
Heading to Battle
Please note that samples are for evaluation purposes only.