Music Suggestions

Music Suggestions

The recent dev blog on music posed the community a few questions, one of which focussed around this idea of dynamic music; transitional music that fades in and out depending on specific events and their subsequent outcomes.

This thread is to serve as a repository for everyone’s thoughts and suggestions regarding other examples of dynamic music, and just music/ sounds in general, and hopefully will give @Doug and @Raj something to think about that they might not have considered!

So please make your suggestions! What scenarios do you imagine happening, what music would be playing to indicate and express the situation, what short “stingers” do you imagine happening to alert us as players to such events?

I’ll collect everyone’s thoughts and suggestions below, with links to posts for future reference.

Please keep this on topic, if you want to discuss suggestions or pieces in general then please head to the discussion topic, any off-topic comments will be removed.

Feel free to provide examples.


Events:

  • Death
  • Music - sombre, mournful music, depending how many units were lost could alter the intensity of the music?
  • Stinger - Depending on class of unit that died, different stinger
  • Positional - Zoomed in on grave/ fallen unit, sombre music, like the current lullaby.
  • Promotion
  • Class dependent stingers
    • Magma Smith - Bass, lots of bass, gravelly noise.
    • Big Game Hunter - Some sort of horn, hunting horn?
  • Fire
    • Music - Erratic, panicky, fast paced.

Scenarios:

  • Titan Attack
    • Losing battle
    • Winning battle
    • Victorious

Background Music:

  • Weather:

    • Storm approaching - music becomes darker, slower, more ominous.
    • Windy, thundery, intensity of noise depends on zoom level
  • Town Morale - Level of morale reflects in the tone of the music

  • Town Size/ Style - Depending on focus of settlement: military, farm, economically powerful … music will change. Rich towns potentially more classical, militaristic more ‘march’ like.

  • Combat

    • Biome dependent
    • Enemy dependent - Skeletons have a ‘darker’ theme, whereas goblins have a more ‘mischievous’ theme, titan’s have an ‘epic’ theme.
  • Dungeons - Dangerous music, to reflect the life and death and uncertain experience.
    [size=18]Seasons:[/size]

  • Transitional pieces for seasons, so rather than fade out spring, fade in summer, go-between pieces that combine the feeling of both seasons.

  • Winter

    • Slower pieces.
    • Sombre, dangerous nature of winter reflected.
    • Bells, shakers, brass horns,
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in the event they help spark some additional conversation, here are some notable comments from the Dev Blog:

Based on this, I think I would assume your town can have a Spring Festival (Hence Spring Festival Theme.) Perhaps you should make some kind of party music or marriage music? Also, you can have different music based on your town. If your town is rich, it could be like classical and elegant music. If your town is a military town, it could be some kind of march music? Just some suggestions, the sneak peeks are amazing! Especially love the Spring Festival Theme.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide feedback and get sneak peaks. I enjoyed Summer Day Theme and Spring Festival Theme. The Dungeon Theme I am not sold on though, it feels like it’s from a cartoon and doesn’t give me a dungeon vibe. It feels very light hearted and I don’t think that would fit with a dungeon, dungeons are meant to feel dangerous like it’s life or death type thing. I may just be an odd one out and either way I’ll still love you guys, I hope it makes you think at least.
Thanks. =)

I like the idea of horns and shakers during Winter, but maybe a light, muted sound, like its muffled against the snow, or some xylophones to reflect the fragile, cold, yet light theme of ice.

As for the seasonal music, take for example what Banjo Kazooie’s level of Click Clock Woods. There were the four seasons, as well as different music.

If you need a reference, here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXoaTcf_3vo

The music example are very good. So you are her also on the right track (i didnt like the one in the middel because it had no peaks but still very relaxing).

I like all Idea but i would put them in a ordner:

1.Dynamic Music
Because: Every game has Dynamic Music it is also some kind of gameplay because it is a notification about that something happend.

  1. Seasonal Music
    The Game is a city builder of some kind of it need to have nice music or the people will very soon shut it (the music) down so if you add for each Season music you will have a stronger variety.
  1. Camera Location
    Camera is a nice feature but not essitenzial for the game himself. Sure you can do that but keep it basis dont focus to much on the details when the mainpart is not done. Or you will soon lose focus what was importend and what was not.

I’m definitely looking forward to dynamic and camera-based music–I would agree with having more than just the two “outcome” musical styles post-conflict (as you mentioned, happy and sad). Are you planning to have some sort of chart/matrix to determine a greater range of “outcomes” (For example, distraught → disheartened → nervous → content → celebratory)? Perhaps the music played could be determined by the total damage given vs. received and total units lost (maybe as a percentage of your total population?) I’m interested to see what would come up. The more musical variety for combat, the better!

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Thanks for this thread @Geoffers747, and thanks for linking all of those comments @SteveAdamo. I also noticed that the music update blog had A LOT of comments. It’s nice that so many people care about music! :slight_smile:

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Id really enjoy it if we got some Ethereal music for when we find ruins/temples in the game


something like the relaxing music box in this song

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Very good idea @Heimerdinger, I like it!

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I already know the music is going to be very well done thanks to Raj.

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And @Doug! Come on now @Feashrind - you’ll upset him.

[size=6]Also I may or may not have a soft spot for Doug and secretly he is my 14th favourite member of team R. [/size]

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This is the type of thing I really like to see because it adds atmosphere… and I’m all about that! I never really gave it consideration until now but I do really like the ideas.

My only additions would include special music themes for various lesser enemies… I kind of view the goblin them as being something comedic rather than overly threatening.

I <3 you too @Geoffers747, and Raj deserves 100% of the music credit. :smile:

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Of course, sorry Doug!!!

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I was thinking about making a mod for this but then I thought…it would probably be better if the devs did it

the Base idea was I was going to attempt making a ‘‘playing guitar’’ animation for a bard profession and then have a '‘Stage zone’ designated where he goes and plays music which will raise morale or speed buff the people or etc, similar to a farm zone,trapper zone, etc etc. the music devs could then have a giant outlet for putting there soundtracks into the game as bard songs

don’t know if this has been said or thought of already lol

lil music note particle effect would be pretty cool too and then modders would start throwing there own soundtracks into the bards repertoire

http://www.wallcoo.net/game/mabinogi/images/Nele_1024x768.jpg whenever I think of a bard , I think of nele from mabinogi…he says bard to me

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This is a very cool idea and something me and my old roommate had eluded to in a post ages ago when Stonehearth was still just hatchling :slight_smile:

Where’s that thread…? Ah here we go!

Oh steve :smile:

But very cool idea nonetheless!

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I was thinking that since Raj Mann @Raj arranged the instruments to be independent but mix well there could be a music layering system. Basically a piece of music is playing and it is divided into overlapping parts. They are strategically “mixed” to form one piece of music that seamlessly transitions by adding and subtracting parts and adding effects based on in-game events.

Think of it this way. You have a large band playing a piece of music. Each instrument section has it’s own part. By instructing certain sections to join in and drop out and controlling factors like tempo, the director can seamlessly change the mood as the piece progresses.

Now you have a soundtrack that can smoothly transition at any time to fit the mood.

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Great idea @Killer_Kappuccino, this was actually one of the ways that Raj and I were debating on how to handle the music intensifying as your town levels up. Your town in this game will grow and become bigger, and more epic, thus, the music should too. We thought of handling this with your idea, of making 1 epic track with many instruments that can be stripped away and built on slowly based off in game events to match the pace of game play. In the end, we decided to go with level 1, level 2, and level 3 versions of each day and night track of each season, and use creative stingers to transition seasons and city level ups hopefully seamlessly.

You absolutely have the right mindset for this, and I love when the community thinks so creatively about music implementation.

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@Geoffers747, @Raj, @Doug, @sdee@allmusicfans… thought you might enjoy some free music (tavern songs and the associated sheet music) from the lovely DA Inquisition… :smile: :+1:

http://www.dragonage.com/en_US/news/inquisition-tavern-songs-giveaway

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I sense a touch of a designer/developer in you, no? :wink:

Very cool idea and me and @Doug were discussing exactly this as well. To elaborate on his reply a bit more, it’s a very interesting idea to have layered music that builds with your town but that means you’re limited to one composition and, ultimately, just one idea.

Stonehearth traces its inspirational lineage (at least aesthetically) from a wide variety of RPGs from many different gaming eras and we wanted to follow in that vein of having a big epic and varied soundtrack. For example, The Wind from Over the Hill and Harvest & Hearth are two different summer themes with different pacing, melodies and flows. This kind of thing is not only a very nice, rewarding and fresh change if your town has ‘levelled up’ (so to speak), but also helps to flesh out the atmosphere and the world.

Very cool and creative idea nonetheless! :]

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Very cool find @SteveAdamo! Who doesn’t enjoy tavern music? :] I wish the Boston Pizza near my house would have tavern music like this in their lounge… :[

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The tavern music in Dragon Age: Inquisition is exceptional - nothing like the cheesy Skryim ones, give them a listen.

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It’s even crazier when you realize that some of those songs are about you and your friends. Oh, and Andraste’s Mabari! T___T

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