At this point in the project I have composed music for the two main rooms of the game, music for a stinger and battle theme. Meaning the only music I have left to do is the music for the final room and boss fight of the game. For this room I wanted to compose some exciting and intense music to accompany the boss fight, below is an evaluation and reflection of all the work I have done this week.
Organising the Project and Importing Video
I started this week by organising my project layout, I did this because the large amount of instrumental tracks I had on my project (37 tracks) which made it very hard at times to find specific tracks I wanted change. Furthermore grouping instruments together by categorising into the name of their instrumental family (strings, brass, percussion and Choir) helped me find the instrument I was looking for quicker furthermore improving my workflow when composing. To organise my project even further I assigned each group with a different colour that contrasts the group beside it, making it easier to find out where one group ends and the other begins. Organising the project in this way improved my workflow when mixing and composing for the rest of this project, to improve in future projects I would organise my project sooner as it helps create a very effective workflow throughout your time composing music.
Due to the amendment I made in my project I decided to place my composed music over already existing gameplay, rather than learning how to code it into the game and potentially miss the deadline due to the steep learning curve or learning programming. Therefore I had to record my own gameplay footage and import it into Logic, I then re-arranged my existing music to fit the gameplay footage with the transitions I already had in mind. The computers at college did not run the game to a high enough quality for the showcase as it was very laggy, therefore I asked my tutor to record it from his own laptop allowing me to capture smooth and high quality footage. After importing this video into Logic I re-arranged my music to fit the visuals, this included placing my bounced stinger block over the hammer animation.
Upon syncing the music to a video I realised that their wasn’t enough time within the footage to fit the combat music I wrote in the previous week into the video, this was because the gameplay was very fast and the player moved in and out of combat too quickly to place the music in. Therefore I have over estimated how much music I have to write in this project and I cannot include the full combat music in the game, however this week I used an idea from the previous combat theme and put a variation of it in the boss music in a section i call (staccato theme). Therefore spending last week on the battle music theme was not a complete waste of time as I have recycled the idea and turned it into a new theme of music.
Video Footage
Final Room Music Initial Ideas
This is an initial idea I had for the lead up to the boss fight, this was inspired by game such as dark souls. As in these games the lead up the final boss is almost melancholic to reflect on the player reaching the end of the journey, I tried to replicate this by composing a choir playing minor chords to create a sad tone within the music. However I also added some dissonant clashing notes to create an evil and unstable tone within the music to reflect on the presence of the evil boss. Then to lead into the boss fight I planned on the cello and bass moving up in minor third movement to create a sinister build up of tension leading into the boss theme. This idea however did not work as I decided the emotional choir contrasted with the boss theme I have envisioned in my head, which can also be heard after the build up in the initial idea track. The sudden change from emotional too aggressive was too abrupt and did not match the visuals of the game on screen, therefore I tried a different idea which I talk about below on this page.
One idea I initially had for the main motif of the boss fight was to add a bass trombone playing the chord progression in a staccato articulation, however as all the instruments where playing staccato the music sounded very disjointed. Therefore I decided it was important to include a legato melody in the main motif, which I talk about in the ‘fight music’ sub-heading on this page. In summary these initially ideas were not successful in creating a full piece of music, however they taught me what worked well and what didn’t in my composition. Therefore experimenting with these initial ideas was necessary for me to create a finished and powerful theme for the final fight of the video game.
Entering Room Music
This music plays when the player enters the boss room all the way up until the final boss battle begins and the player engages in combat. I wanted the music in the lead up to the boss fight to foreshadow the upcoming events of combat using dark instrumental timbres and diminished aggressive chords. Below I will talk about my creative decisions when composing this music block.
When composing the music for the final boss room I wanted to naturally lead the music from the harmony of the first two rooms and blend it into the final boss theme over time. Therefore I took the notes A, Ab, F#, and F from the chord progression of the first half of the level which is F# minor and F minor. Due to these notes existing within the harmony of the chord progression this allowed me to create a melody that naturally blended the boss motif with the harmony of the 1st half. However the notes from the boss theme sounded very empty and had no strict emotion to the melody due its lac of harmony. To fix this is problem I played harmonised with the melody one minor third down from the violin on the viola, which created a haunting and eerie tone in the music. The melody and harmony both descend in pitch, successfully creating a sense of confusion and mystery in the music as the listener does not know where the music is going. This string instrumental plays when the character is walking through a tunnel that leads to a boss arena, however the player does not know where this tunnel leads when they are first walking through it. Hence why I wanted the music to have a confusing and haunting tone to it. This string instrumental repeats until the player exits the tunnel and enters the boss arena.
When the player first enters the boss arena every instrument drops out of the arrangement and the bass trombone enters the music, the job of the bass trombone is continue the melody that strings where playing and lead the motif into the boss fight. I replaced the strings with a bass trombone due to it’s dark and aggressive timbre which reflects on the player approaching the source of evil within the game. The transitions from strings to brass works well as the strings do not get chance to finish the melody, therefore it is almost as if the brass is finishing the melodic sentence on behalf of the strings. Furthermore creating a smooth blend between the two sections of music. However the deep ‘F’ note the trombone plays gives the music a shocking and abrupt change within the music that sounds very rushed in terms of composition, furthermore in the upcoming week I am going to improve this transition to make it sound more fluent by experimenting with adding other instruments into the transition and replacing the ‘F’ note. Furthermore creating a smooth blend between the two sections of music. The melody played on the brass is very distinctive compared to the violins, this is due to the increased tempo of the melodic rhythm which gives the melody more energy and intensity to reflect on the action of the boss fight.
The notes of the melody of the trombone are almost identical however the melodic phrase ends by descending between the notes ‘C, B, A, Ab. F#, F’. This rhythm in the melody builds up anticipation in the music due to the descending notes. This melodic phrase raises a question in the music that makes the listener wonder how the music is going to develop, furthermore allowing me to naturally bring more instruments into the music and increase the intensity as the player approaches the boss arena. After the trombone finishes the melodic sentence once, the timpani and choir enter the music. The choir is playing a F minor diminished chord on each beat, I chose this harmony as it gave the music a dissonant and dark tone reflecting furthermore on the evil environment the player is in. This diminished chord is played on every beat along with the timpani to give the music a sense of constant movement, furthermore encouraging the player to progress into the boss arena. While the player was walking up to the boss fight I also decided I wanted the music to build up in tension, so that at the climax of the build up I could naturally lead the music into the main boss theme of the fight. I did this by adding the cello and violin and making them ascend up the diminished scale in steps, which successfully made the music build up in tension as the pitch relentlessly increased.
Fight Music
Evaluation
This is the main theme that plays while the player is fighting the final boss in the forge level, this is the very final moment of gameplay of the game therefore I wanted the music to sound intense and aggressive. My main priority when writing this theme was to resemble the importance of the fight in the story and personify the presence of the main source of evil within the music. I began this creative process by writing a staccato string instrumental played by; the violin, cello, double bass and viola. This instrumental is playing a variation of the theme that was played prior to entering the boss fight (A,G#,F#,F; diminished scale). However the theme of the music is played in a much faster rhythm, which furthermore adds more energy and intensity to the music. I chose the articulation of this theme to be played as a staccato, due to its sharp and aggressive decay time of the notes. This theme is spanned over the frequency range of 4 octaves to give the theme a prominent sound within the mix of the music which stands out to the listener during the boss fight.
The melody of the boss theme is shared between three instruments which are; 2nd violins, bass trombone and the choir. Each time the boss theme is replayed after the transition block the instruments that play the melody also change, I did this to make the music sound more interesting to the listener as it would be too repetitive for the melody to stay exactly the same each time it repeats and could make the players ears get tired from hearing the same thing. The melody starts playing the main motif that is played on the staccato strings at a much slower tempo, which makes the music easier for the listener to keep track of. This instrumental is also played on the bass trombone at an uncomfortably high pitch for instrument, which makes the music sound unstable and unnatural furthermore reflecting on the otherworldly nature of the boss. After two bars the trombone playing the melody it drops down two octaves, this gives the music a much darker and sinister sound which reflects on the danger of the boss fight and the evil the boss represents. When the trombone is playing in the low octaves the 2nd violins come in which plays the the 4th octave that the trombone was playing in previously, this makes it sound very natural when the trombone moves down two octaves as we are not making empty space in the frequency range of the music when it moves as the instrument is replaced.
In this boss theme I decided to add some small details into the music to stop the theme from becoming repetitive and boring to the listener, one detail I added was a French horn crescendo. This plays a crescendo on F and F#, as these two notes have a 1 semi-tone interval this creates a dissonant harmony within the music which has musical connotations of evil, danger and horror. Furthermore accurately depicting what the boss represents within the context of the video game. One final detail I added was initially a mistake in the music as I forgot to mute one of my initial ideas which was to play the boss theme in double time, when I played the new boss theme with this initial boss theme underneath it created a rhythmic mess in the music. However the rhythmic chaos present in the music accurately represented the chaos of conflict present during the final boss fight, therefore I decided to keep it in. The music also gets a sense of rhythmic clarity when the french horn drops out after two bars, as the main rhythm of the music has the listeners full attention.
In conclusion the boss fight music was very successful this week as it personified and represented the evil presence on screen through the use of dissonance and dark, powerful instrumental timbres. The fast melodic phrases also synced well with the gameplay action on screen, furthermore allowing the music to immerse the player within the game by blending the music into the visuals of the game. However this music block could be improved by composing a more advanced rhythm than a four to the floor drum beat for the timpani, as this would help give the composition more rhythmic drive and intensity.
Transition Block
Evaluation
To win this boss fight the player must stand in a specific location in the boss arena and charge up a magic attack to damage the boss, due to the significance of this action during this boss fight I wanted the music to highlight this moment of gameplay. To do this I composed this music block with the intention of playing it once the player has damaged the boss. Before the music block played I created a small moment of silence within the music, this creates a small moment of tension as the listener does not know what is going to happen next. I did this because in the gameplay you do not know wether or not the boss is defeated once damaging, therefore I wanted to give the listener a sense of uncertainty of what was going to happen next through the music. In this music block the main instruments playing are the violin, timpani and brass, however this music block also plays when the player damages the boss a second time. However the second time the transition block is played it is layered with a choir to make the music unpredictable and interesting. The job of the trombone in this block is to deliver a powerful and aggressive melody to the listener which reflects on the danger of the boss fight through is rough harmonic timbre. To give the melody a wider and more dominant sound in the music I played the trombone melody up two octaves, this made it sound much wider due to it filling in more of the frequency spectrum. The final instrument playing is the timpani, the timpani plays on the beat of each new note that is played in the melody, this supports the melody by giving it a powerful rhythmic foundation furthermore making the music sound more dramatic. The melody its self is moving in a step wise movement from C down to G# and back up to C. This stepwise movement creates a memorable and easy to sing melody, which makes it sound natural played by the choir later on in the level.
Fighting Block Section 2
Evaluation
I added this section of music into the boss fight to prevent the player from getting bored, as the music repeated the same motif over and over throughout the boss fight. I wanted this section of music to contrast the main motif, to do this I dropped out the brass instruments to draw attention to the strings. The string pattern in this theme is a variation of the staccato section from the previous battle theme I wrote. I did this as I was disappointed that the battle theme I originally wrote couldn’t fit into the music as I liked it’s intensity and aggression. Therefore I re-arranged the theme to fit into the context of the boss fight, to do this I made the bass and cello play a chromatic scale from F to A as this is the main note range where the boss theme takes place. This worked very well as it created a natural blend between the two themes, however due to instruments suddenly changing their roles in the music the change seemed very abrupt. To fix this I made the bass staccato pattern play at the very end of the 1st theme to create a natural lead up into the second theme, this worked very well and seamlessly blended the two music sections together.
Reflecting on the gameplay context the music is in I wanted the music to increase the tension to reflect on the dangerous and high stakes battle the player is in. To do this I layered the bass line with a cello playing a chromatic scale one octave higher harmonising with the bass by playing one minor third down, this created a jarring and evil tone within the music which successfully reflected upon the bosses evil context within the game. The cello playing an octave higher also allowed me to build tension within the music, as making an instrument play one octave higher is always a great way to build tension in music compositions. This cello drops in and out of the music every other bar, this builds tension within the music as it makes you think the music is developing when it comes in. However when the cello drops out it creates a disturbed feeling within the music as the listener has been teased with false hope of the music developing. The music does this twice, however after the cello doing this twice I thought that doing the same thing a third time would be predictable and reduce impact from the cellos role within the music, furthermore the third time round I made the cello repeat the chromatic scale with no rest. This second bar of playing makes the listener certain the music is going somewhere. To even further reinforce the listeners certainty within the music I added a violin. The violin plays in unison with the bass two octaves higher which builds intensity, as when the motif fills out the frequency spectrum in quick succession the music receives a drive of energy.
After the 3 false build ups within the music the listener begins to expect another, therefore in the music I decided the 4th build up must be the final as teasing the listener with too many false build ups would become tedious and predictable. In this final build up the main two instrumentals played by the bass and cello are layered by the high strings (viola, violins 1 and 2) playing the main themes spread across 5 different octaves. This allows the main chromatic theme to fill in the majority of the frequency spectrum accessible to strings, furthermore making the music sound very intimidating and wide in the music. The main motif spreads by 1 octave per bar during the last 4 bars of the theme, causing the music to rapidly however naturally fill in the frequency spectrum. After the strings reach their climax the music moves into the transition block which then takes the music back into the main theme.
Below the staccato string pattern I added a melodic theme played by the choir and bass trombone, I did this as the strings sounded very bare bones and bland unaccompanied by melody. I chose the main melodic instrument to be the bass trombone due it’s dark and aggressive timbre which matches the combat context of the game, however I added the choir playing in unison with the trombone one octave higher to give the melody more texture. To keep building tension within the theme I chose to make the melody move conjunctively in the scale of C minor. As the melody moved further away from it’s tonic the music built up in tension, this is because the listener really wants to hear the melody resolve. The C minor scale also gave the melody a dark and sinister tone, therefore matching the context of the game.
what went well?
correction- intense 16th note rhythm naturally blends with action packed intensity of the boss fight.
Another thing that went well which I failed to mention in the video was using metric modulation to give the music in the boss fight a surge of intensity, as the tempo goes from 90BPM to 120BPM. This is huge tempo modulation makes the music speed up to the tempo of a dotted 1/8th note that exists within the 90BPM tempo. The sudden modulation encourages the player to keep up fighting through the enemies in the boss fight by giving them a shot of intensity through the music. This tempo change also blends with the visuals on screen as it occurs after the first transition block, which is when the player enters the second stage of the boss fight. Therefore the music is developing along with the boss fights different stages.
What could be improved?
I summary this week has been very successful in terms of practical work efficiency as I have composed a large amount of high quality music for the final boss fight of the game, there is very minor and quick aspects of this music I aim to mend in the upcoming week. My efficiency may have been improved due to organising my project, as this saved a lot of time by allowing me quickly find tracks that where once very unorganised in my Logic Project.