Some music criticism

  • Here is my suggestion for Hell music or something inspired by it atleast. I can picture tunneling into that glowing stone or falling into the chasm as this plays. Then, starting at 1:26 is probably the earliest example I can think of regarding "soundscapes" which pre-dates Steve Roach's earliest works by atleast a decade. Makes me wonder if he was inspired by this. It makes for good hell ambience


  • György Ligeti's "Atmosphères" was actually used in "2001". I definitely have some microtonal music in the back of my mind for the creepier parts of Rising World.
    "Glistering Rays" is my least favorite track, I might try something else to replace it.

  • So in all seriousness, that dungeon music piece that Waveshapr posted as a goof actually sounded quite effective and could be useful as some kind of transitionary piece betwen diferent areas of a dungeon or traveling through some kind of twisty passageway, or optical illusion.


    I found an interesting compilation that might serve as inspiration for dungeon music. This reminds me of some of the dark stuff I'd hear on Bluemars at times but this compilation is really dark and all dark, not just spacey with some darkness. I love this kind of music!



    My favorite tracks so far:


    00:00 Desiderii marginis - The Sleep of reason produces monsters
    Haunting and deeply complex. This will keep you on edge.


    10:38 Sjelos - Excavation
    Haunting but has an adventurous and accomplishing feel as if you are reaching milestones within your exploration of the dungeon.


    13:55 Sjellos - Life Left
    This one sounds like something heard after defeating some great adversary and its body decomposes. Also very accomplishing in sound. Perhaps after some great evil is defeated, organic life returns to the dungeon. Waters turn clear and shafts of light peek through withering away overgrowth.


    37:02 Cryobiosis - Corroded
    This sounds like the situation is beginning to escalate. You've explored deeper than you expected. The surroundings are less familiar. What ever hints of natural elements are now gone. No light from the overworld can reach this deep. The first half of this piece are very misleading, as if to lure you into a false sense of comfort.


    44:00 Neizvestija - Muslyumovo
    Very technological and future dystopian. Perhaps in the future there will be different types of dungons, ancient, and futuristic.


    52:03 Ugasanie - Permafrost
    Like above, for dungeon variations... Perhaps snowy biomes will have ice castles and dungeons consisting of labyrinths made of ice blocks.

  • Cool, I'll have a listen tomorrow :)


    Right now, my ideas for dungeons are more textural than traditionally melodic. Going for melodic stuff would be a bit too predictable and cheesy.
    There will be a difference between underground and overground dungeons.

  • I'm actually loving what foxfire just linked because it fits Rising World's dungeons & mood nicely. I agree that it could fit the far deeper stuff because of how deep the underground terrain can get. Something above hell, yet far underground, where there's relics from WW2 type dungeons, or whatever else. It's far too trippy to have that BGM that I'd only go down there with friends, and maybe NPC comrades, if we ever do get them.


    I've got some further ideas, yet I'll place them in another thread. More appropriate there. Loving where Foxfire is going.

  • Thanks Arctic. I've enjoyed dark ambient music for a very long time. It can be haunting, terrifying, yet strangely comforting at times. Waveshapr's idea that I know of is mainly to be microtonal. To my understanding, microtonal is anything using more than the standard 12 notes in a keyboard octave.


    But I know almost nothing about music theory. I just know what sounds pleasing to me ^^

  • I love Atrium Carceri's music, I used to listen to it whilst playing ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead when I was working on a post-apocalyptic map set in the twilight hours in winter time. Nothing creepier than walking up a hill in Takistan with Delta Force guys only to see headlights pointing down on you and reflexively pressing Z to go prone.


    On the topic of ambient music, there' a game called Eidolon that has some fantastic pieces not so much scary as just weird, at first listen. I honestly can't explain it without spoiling the game but it's just incredible to me. Every track fits its respective zone's feel, the stories within that zone and the sights you see whilst you're there. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post a link to the full album on YouTube, but there is the artist's Bandcamp here: http://icewatergames.bandcamp.com/album/eidolon-ost but don't let the measly sixteen track list fool you, there's about 97 tracks in total on the full album, it's just that Bandcamp wasn't letting them put the whole thing up.


    I can't wait to hear more from you, waveshapr, Rising World's music sounds good and fits the game quite well.

  • I really like the Dungeon Music Playlist – nice drone-y, Dark Ambient stuff.
    Sort of what I think could fit for our dungeons, but still different, maybe even more subtle.
    We'll see. I have a few ideas, but they are scattered all over the place and there's no coherence in it yet.
    Thanks for posting :)


    @ConJon
    Thank you very much, always appreciated! :)
    There will be more music in the game in one of the next updates.
    Maybe we'll even slip a small music update between the larger updates.

  • Well, maybe I'm bringing in something foreign, yet Rising Word is a game already breaking boundaries that I'm wondering if there'll even be neutral happy-evil type music. Nothing happy, nothing angry, or dark....Just somewhat neutrally moody, if that makes sense.


    BGM music from an anime web game possibly been used in the "world map" before entering in a battle (think old retro RPG world maps if it helps any)



    And this


    (Something I just found after posting this post. Has that interesting mood to it.)


    That music there makes me imagine some abandoned ruin or village that we're seeing what's left after something happened. Maybe some monument, shipwreck, or something along those lines, if there's any of those sort. What we've been teased on Steam & form dungeon update seems to be leading to both the traditional, as well as something more "normal".

  • Well, maybe I'm bringing in something foreign, yet Rising Word is a game already breaking boundaries that I'm wondering if there'll even be neutral happy-evil type music. Nothing happy, nothing angry, or dark....Just somewhat neutrally moody, if that makes sense.

    Like Bach's Kunst der Fugue or Die Musikalisches Opfer, for instance. Or Palestrina's Masses. Or a good deal of XV - XVI c. polyphony. Or...

  • My only criticism is that the the first one sounds "themed". The title music of Rising World, for example, sounds like theme music whereas the in-game music is more atmospheric. I do like the second BGM you posted but I feel that if something like this was heard in exploring certain areas whether it be ruins or villages that it would give it too much of a Metroidvania feel. Just my two cents.

  • I guess I was just "in the zone" last night tuned into those tracks, yet take them as loose 2 cents, or whatever. But yeah....Now that I'm hearing it again it does seem different, yet change is also different so it's really hard to tell. Themed or similar simply becomes the new norm when something new is added, and people hate how their old vibe gets changed for a new feeling vibe. Gameplay experiences always changes & adapts to new features.


    Shall have to see what Miiware is going on about a bit later. I'll get to your post eventually.

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