My name is Seth Weedin and I am a sound designer / gameplay programmer for Team Atmos. Below is a short post detailing my thought process for creating the Dischord Sketch Track Collection, and how creating it an an early stage in development influenced not only the audio style of the game, but also the design of certain mechanics at an early stage. While you're reading, feel free to click on the SoundCloud playlist below and listen to the tunes. Hope you enjoy.
INTRO
Pre-production is an incredibly valuable time in game development. The slightest idea or notion can ripple through a project life-cycle, sometimes influencing each and every media produced from then onward, towards the end vision. These newly birthed ideas can be brilliant, and more frequent, if that end vision is synchronized within the team.
As a sound designer and programmer, I noticed something: when I'm taking a break from producing audio, and working on the code side of things, I am often influenced by the music I'm listening to. Particularly if that music is in sync with the kind of game being worked on. But what if that game hasn't taken shape just yet? Just as a visual artist can concept out a piece that evokes a certain aesthetic, so too can a sound designer create an atmosphere or motif to accomplish the same, if not more. It doesn't have to be complete, long, or even well mixed. Just enough to get the point across, and the imagination flowing.
A common methodology put into practice by Team Atmos is the use of a feedback loop. A feedback loop is the process during which content that one developer creates inspires another, who's work inspires the original content's creator, and so on, building up momentum. I've found that if there is audio content present at one of the points along a feedback loop, that audio can be in the background while other content creators do their work. This goes a long way towards the cohesiveness of what is created.
INTRO
Pre-production is an incredibly valuable time in game development. The slightest idea or notion can ripple through a project life-cycle, sometimes influencing each and every media produced from then onward, towards the end vision. These newly birthed ideas can be brilliant, and more frequent, if that end vision is synchronized within the team.
As a sound designer and programmer, I noticed something: when I'm taking a break from producing audio, and working on the code side of things, I am often influenced by the music I'm listening to. Particularly if that music is in sync with the kind of game being worked on. But what if that game hasn't taken shape just yet? Just as a visual artist can concept out a piece that evokes a certain aesthetic, so too can a sound designer create an atmosphere or motif to accomplish the same, if not more. It doesn't have to be complete, long, or even well mixed. Just enough to get the point across, and the imagination flowing.
A common methodology put into practice by Team Atmos is the use of a feedback loop. A feedback loop is the process during which content that one developer creates inspires another, who's work inspires the original content's creator, and so on, building up momentum. I've found that if there is audio content present at one of the points along a feedback loop, that audio can be in the background while other content creators do their work. This goes a long way towards the cohesiveness of what is created.
DISCHORD - Sketch Track Collection
THE EARLY PROCESS
Used to reinforce brainstorming sessions, and "set the mood" for general work on the project, these sketch tracks served as a playground for experimenting with different soundscapes and ideas. One of the first ideas we had was a game that took place in space, with a stark contrast between gameplay inside and outside of your ship. This contrast would be complimented by two vastly different soundscapes: what we dubbed Horror and Space Funk. And so to concept this, I made a concept track that started off with the Space Funk vibe, switched into Horror, and then shifted back to Space Funk. This simulated how the soundscape would feel if the player was cruising through space and proceeded to land, exit the ship, and take off again. The result was the first sketch track in the collection, and along with it some further exploration was done with a second track.
Used to reinforce brainstorming sessions, and "set the mood" for general work on the project, these sketch tracks served as a playground for experimenting with different soundscapes and ideas. One of the first ideas we had was a game that took place in space, with a stark contrast between gameplay inside and outside of your ship. This contrast would be complimented by two vastly different soundscapes: what we dubbed Horror and Space Funk. And so to concept this, I made a concept track that started off with the Space Funk vibe, switched into Horror, and then shifted back to Space Funk. This simulated how the soundscape would feel if the player was cruising through space and proceeded to land, exit the ship, and take off again. The result was the first sketch track in the collection, and along with it some further exploration was done with a second track.
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FLEXIBILITY
Every track in this collection was created in less than six hours. The trick with these sketches is not to become too attached to a particular piece of work, but rather the idea that you're trying to get across. At such an early stage in development, before you know it, the game could go in an entirely new direction, rendering your previous work out-of-style. Make something, get it out to the team, and iterate. See what sticks -- and you'll know when something does, because there's something primal about the way we react to good music.
If the reaction to a particular track isn't as desired, inquire as to whether or not a specific moment within the track was favored more than the track as a whole. You can then take that short snippet and run with it, deriving another track from it entirely. For example, I noticed that a few melodies in the track titled "Space Epic" caught more attention than others, namely the intro and final break-down, and have taken notes reminding me to work to incorporate them into future tracks for the game's final soundtrack.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Looking back at the progression of tracks in this collection, I would have never been able to guess where exactly I was going to end up -- and that's the whole point of these sketch tracks: experimentation. Through this six month process, the musical style of Dischord has gone from a funky beat in space, to mysterious, haunting melody backed with industrial percussion. Let's see where it goes next...
Every track in this collection was created in less than six hours. The trick with these sketches is not to become too attached to a particular piece of work, but rather the idea that you're trying to get across. At such an early stage in development, before you know it, the game could go in an entirely new direction, rendering your previous work out-of-style. Make something, get it out to the team, and iterate. See what sticks -- and you'll know when something does, because there's something primal about the way we react to good music.
If the reaction to a particular track isn't as desired, inquire as to whether or not a specific moment within the track was favored more than the track as a whole. You can then take that short snippet and run with it, deriving another track from it entirely. For example, I noticed that a few melodies in the track titled "Space Epic" caught more attention than others, namely the intro and final break-down, and have taken notes reminding me to work to incorporate them into future tracks for the game's final soundtrack.
WHERE WE ARE NOW
Looking back at the progression of tracks in this collection, I would have never been able to guess where exactly I was going to end up -- and that's the whole point of these sketch tracks: experimentation. Through this six month process, the musical style of Dischord has gone from a funky beat in space, to mysterious, haunting melody backed with industrial percussion. Let's see where it goes next...