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When you use Sonic for a college assignment

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by Falk, Nov 10, 2011.

  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqPW7epuz_g&feature=player_embedded

    Thought it fit pretty well to just a normal run through of Rooftop Run so I made it happen.
     
  2. Falk

    Falk

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    Coincidentally enough, presentation - you boot up Wwise and control your music live to accompany gameplay footage - was on Nov 1st, and I'd literally picked up Generations 9 hours before class. I was tempted to play till Rooftop Run and present that instead of the Unleashed version but there were too many unknown variables (like, are there comparable transition points? etc) so I didn't.
     
  3. Tyty

    Tyty

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    I've watched the video 3 times now, and it's pretty awesome, but I'm wondering how well this would apply to classic sonic style, as well as other games. It works VERY well for modern sonic due to the fast pace, and the whole obstacle course dynamic, and I know Mario 64 did similar with Dire Dire Docks and Jolly Roger Bay depending on where you are in the level (but that was just adding/removing an instrument or two), but there's so many other game types to think about that this would apply to, such as Zelda and FPSes and the like.

    EDIT: Just remembered wind waker had dynamic music too. The "sneaking" music got more... ominous (I guess?) the more you moved.
     
  4. Indigo Rush

    Indigo Rush

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    Is there... like a way you could go over to Sonic Team or SEGA and show this to them or something? This is actually something that the 3D Sonic games could really benefit from! This is incredible work, props to you, dude!
     
  5. XCubed

    XCubed

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    This is absolutely amazing! I feel like I just wasted 7 years of my life doing something else instead of this.

    What was your process for putting something like this together? What do you use to make such wonderful music? The quality is so great that it fits perfectly! I have such a passion for music, but I just feel that I don't have the right tools.
     
  6. Falk

    Falk

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    I actually need to finish college :V

    Unless they're offering something that can put food on the table long term, which is rare. Music/audio guys are the bottom of the food chain in game development unfortunately.

    Cakewalk SONAR is my DAW of choice, although nowadays it honestly doesn't matter. In terms of sounds, guitars and bass were fake-recorded (I play them note by note, then stitch them together). Drums are one of the default kits off Native Instruments Battery. Violins/other orchestrals are off Vienna Symphonic Library. Piano and acoustic guitar were recorded live.

    For the techno version, most of the sounds are off Vengeance Club Essentials. The D&B groove is basically me mashing random keys on a sliced up amen break: (gah, auto-embed)
    (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SaFTm2bcac)
     
  7. messyb

    messyb

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    I've been quite interested in the way the sound in games can change depending what actions are taken in-game, but unfortunatley, not many games seem to use it to it's full potential. Games like Banjo-Kazooie changed its MIDI instrumentation depending on the environment (like when going underwater for example) and it's sad to see that sort of thing is less common nowdays. I remember that Halo 3 also had an adaptive soundtrack where instruments would be added to the song as the action intensified and the mood changed. Instruments were also removed when the action simmered down. That alone was enough to interest me, but this... this is bloody phenomenal. Seriously, your work here is unlike anything I've ever seen (or heard. lol). The way that the music works so well with the level's progression, how it changes when the player's skill and/or speed does, how it drasticly enhances the game's already incredible sense of speed and adreneline. Combined with the fact that the song itself is just a brilliant composition, this shit should be revolutionary to music in gaming as we know it. Well done is an understatement.
     
  8. GeneHF

    GeneHF

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    I was going to post a gif of wrestling fans bowing to show how in awe I am in this, but that's against the rules for posting standards.

    So instead, I'm just going to tell you I am in awe of how that worked out. You're right that Generations actually does the effect as well and I love it every time when in Green Hill and Sky Sanctuary (the only two levels that do this), if you are idle or going under top speed, you get the normal song. When Sonic is running at full speed, the percussion and extra guitars kick in to accentuate the fact you're going faster.

    Sadly, then you hit the boost and that retarded equalization effect kicks in and shits all over the melodies. It's just as bad as including a constantly used battle theme that completely swallows up very nice compositions. Right, Sonic Unleashed?

    Not Sonic related, but as you mentioned, action games play a lot with this music effect in changing songs. Phantasy Star Online way back on the Dreamcast was one of the first I remember doing this. The upcoming Devil may Cry has been teased by Ninja Theory to pull a similar effect depending on your performance in battle. So it begins with a basic but plain song, adds guitars as you go in, and if you manage to reach really high Style Meter levels, it adds vocals. Dynamic music like that is something that's very much interesting. One bit I love that was used in a movie I saw recently (should check it out, obviously) is during chase sequences in Hanna. The Chemical Brothers did a fantastic job with that.
     
  9. Falk

    Falk

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    Speaking of existing games that do interactivity really well, I think Red Dead Redemption is a case in point regarding what I said about Western scoring. Technically, it's an amazing adaptation of interactivity. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2010/may/26/red-dead-redemption-soundtrack

    However looking back, I can't really even remember anything about the music except that it had harmonica. It was good during gameplay, but I'm not too sure if it made a lasting impression. That being said I grew up on Final Fantasy and the like, so maybe I'm just a tad biased.

    edit: I guess I should also mention it's not the first assignment I did music for Sonic footage for. :V The earlier elective in the chain taught basic modtracking (since it's still in use in DS games today - although definitely a dying breed, the techniques are good to know) and I did Colors final boss in a completely different genre vs the original music. The final tracker file was something hilarious like 200kb, and it could be sped up and slowed down at will quite a bit before it started sounding dumb.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCpPaRCBltE
     
  10. Dusk Golem

    Dusk Golem

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    All very impressive stuff, I left a comment on the Rooftop Run video but I'll say it here.

    Just a note, not to this depth, but Sonic Heroes actually did something like this. I noticed it in a few stages, but it mostly stuck out to me in Mystic Mansion, where a part of the song will loop until you enter a certain part of a stage and then the music will continue to the next part. They set it in that stage so the music will? be at it's more jazzy parts when fighting enemies, and then play the catchiest and most intense part when you get to the car driving sections.

    However, I wish this stuff was more common in Sonic as it can be great for mood & thrill capturing.
     
  11. Blue Blood

    Blue Blood

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    Only Mystic Mansion had it. Hang Castle switched between two tracks for the regular and flipped areas, but that was it. The real thing that sets Falk's work apart from that is the "Be Cool" and "Be Wild" differentiation on top of the music being segmented. The role music plays in the enjoyability of a game seems to be severely underrated. This work would make any Sonic game, especially an Unleashed-style on, infinitely more enjoyable.

    EDIT: Fuck deciding not to quote the previous post, only to have your post ending up on the next page. D=
     
  12. Dusk Golem

    Dusk Golem

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    You are correct that he did it much better, it is a very nice showing and demonstration and it works wondrously and would love to see it used more. In the Sonic series, Mystic Mansion was the only one I deliberately noticed besides one other stage in something, but I can't for the life of me remember it so I will just call it a mute point until I recall.

    The only other game in recent memory I recall doing this is Shadows of the Damned, but even there they don't use it to such a precise and calculated affair. All the same, I do and have previously when thinking about it pinpoint it as being the best approach for mood-setting when it comes to video games audio experience for the player.
     
  13. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    I used Sonic for a college assignment once. I made this:

    [​IMG]

    Eraser drawings are fun. I miss that art class
     
  14. Chris Highwind

    Chris Highwind

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    Dude, that is wicked awesome. I applaud you for making such an amazing piece of work that is so detailed that it sets the mood regardless of what part of the level you're in, or how fast you're going.
     
  15. I had the idea of doing something like this ages ago; I really thought it'd go well with the current Sonic formula, and if they threw in a level like Music Plant too it'd just absolutely top it in terms of musical interactivity - I like all the elements of a game to be fundamentally connected, through gameplay, leitmotifs, reoccuring symbolism and so on.

    Problem is, I have absolutely no knowledge of music nor programming, so I've never been capable enough to tie music and gameplay together in a way that I'd like to. Kudos for beating me to it :P
     
  16. Dr. Mecha

    Dr. Mecha

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    That suck that you have to completely recompose the entire track list base off of music from last two decades or more, since they'll do everything in their power to prepare these student to avoid lawsuits. Thought it would be made even more difficult by forcing you to use your OWN game as a example. Though it would be best to have no visual footage, and instead use powerpoint explain how your music would work in a specific genre of video games.
     
  17. Falk

    Falk

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    Actually the requirements make complete sense: You don't typically go to a company and present music that's an adaptation of something else.

    Secondly we're talking about music students, not programming/modding/hacking/whatever enthusiasts

    Thirdly, you pretty much could compose anything and not care about how well it fitted visuals (which game music really is supposed to do) if you had no footage to go with it. Additionally most of the people here are looking for jobs within the industry, not trailblazing their own new franchises, so it makes sense for demo reels to have recognizable iconization when sending stuff in.