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[Lord Ash]

Ok, so I get to make this Months(weeks ?) challenge. Yeah for Me 

So, I have had this idea for a long time, about a "Music System" for an RPG. Basically, you have several people in your party, who are musicians, maybe not everyone, but several. Based on who is in your party, the song is different, using different tracks based on the instruments they play. It will be years before I will get around to making such a game, so it has been relegated to the "cool ideas" section. It may have been done and I missed it.

So, the challenge is to make several single instrument tracks, that could be played together, to make a more robust song.

For instance, and you can be different if you want, we have a party for our Fantasy RPG.

Don, plays a Lyre
Rob, Plays a Flute
Dianna, plays a Violin or Fiddle

Brogus, plays drums, like a dum-bek or conga
Regulus, who plays a snare or marching drum
Trast, plays Harmonica


those are just to get you started, you can use anything that would be carried and played by adventurers on a journey, maybe even alien or magic weapons. The key here, is several distinct tracks, that will mix independently of other tracks being played, and still sound good. Figure 20 seconds to 1 minute for length as a guideline, but they should be about the same. Figure that the software may do some looping and cuts on its own, to keep things varied.


So, 4-10 tracks, that can be mixed in software. or more if you like. Its kinda odd, so ask any questions if you need to, Ill be checking every couple of days. I assumed a month Time frame, if thats wrong let me know !

 


 

[increpare]

Ah: fun!

(I sense a fugue coming on)

I'd set a deadline of two weeks if I were you, but whatever .

[RadRuss]

Yeah a month is a bit long, most of these have been about two weeks.

My question is, do we post the full version with all the instruments, or do you want all the individual tracks too?  If you want all of them, then keeping them all shorter would be a better idea, whereas if you want just the full mix, then I can make it a bit longer.

[PaulMorel]

Great challenge!  I think it should last 2 weeks!

Also, I hate to rain on your parade, but I did a VERY similar thing for the PCG contest.  In my game, each enemy had its own instrumental part, and as they entered and left the screen, the parts were added and stopped appropriately.  It's semi PG music.  I made Last Colonists: http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/lastcolonists

[increpare]

Great challenge!  I think it should last 2 weeks!

Also, I hate to rain on your parade, but I did a VERY similar thing for the PCG contest.  In my game, each enemy had its own instrumental part, and as they entered and left the screen, the parts were added and stopped appropriately.  It's semi PG music.  I made Last Colonists: http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/lastcolonists

Rather like soundvoyager for the GBA then, a game which I quite like.

[Lord Ash]

ok, 2 weeks it is then.
Submission Deadline is July 15th then.

Each of the parts needs to be a separate file. The idea is that you may only have certain people in the party at any time. each "piece" needs to fit with all the others independently. It's not just making a song, and then splitting the instruments off either. Its hard to explain.

Now for bonus points, take a couple of the instruments and let them have an "alternate" as well, a song that still matches, but is a different melody.

I always thought this would be a cool game mechanic, especially if you got effects for the song, like certain songs gave initiative in battle, or restored HP. Even better is if different people in the party, could provide different effects based on what they were playing, and combine the effects. Like the fighter is playing a battle song, the priest a healing song, etc, and even though they are playing different songs, it still fit together, well at least some of them.

So 2 weeks, July 15th, separate tracks please. And you can spice it up for extra points. If you want to provide a possible "arrangement" of the tracks, thats cool, but the instruments alone are the key. To make several small 'songs' that will fit with each other.

 

[RadRuss]

It's not just making a song, and then splitting the instruments off either. Its hard to explain.

Nah, I know what you're aiming at.

It's a troupe of bards!  AAAHHHH RUN

[increpare]

It's not just making a song, and then splitting the instruments off either. Its hard to explain.

Nah, I know what you're aiming at.

It's a troupe of bards!  AAAHHHH RUN

It's quite easy to escape from ensembles I find: they keep tripping over themselves and ending up in a neatly ordered pile on the ground:



That said, there are exceptions and...well...lets hope you don't run into these fellows in a damp spot in the forest








Oh wait, no, I take that back: there are no exceptions...

[PaulMorel]

I understand what you're getting at for this compo.  It's like second line (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_line), where everyone is improvising their own melody for a combined result that's a kind of no-holds-barred counterpoint.

--

ASIDE: That wikipedia page on second line is absolute shit.  We should update it.  For chrissakes, it doesn't even mention Louis Armstrong, who basically invented the modern jazz solo based on his experiences as a second liner.

[increpare]

So here's a preliminary entry for me:

increpare's entry (mp3)
increpare's entry (pxtone)

It's a short melody: I've included all possible combinations in the file, from solos to full band.  All the voices are primitive wave-forms, so I'd leave it to the graphic designers to work out what instruments they might represent.

(Oh, one of the lines is the melody of the Kentucky (I think) folk song Curley Headed Woman  (possibly this entry might have been unconsciously inspired by terry's entry to the previous compo...))

non-entry aside:

In a similarly fragmented format to the above mp3, here's one of my attempts at the clouds competition that didn't make it past the planning stages that I thought I might be able to tart up and put in this competition (before deciding better of it).  A little bit, I think, little-big-adventure-ish towards the end.

clouds2

[soundofjw]

This actually reminds me of the part of FF8 where you'd choose which instruments the character played, and you'd either get some Irish jig or Eyes on Me, or some sick and twisted combination of the two. Haha, good times. Good idea, too!

[Lord Ash]

increpare, very nice !

It captures the theme rather well. I especially like the flute or panpipe sound, very cool.

TwiTerror, yeah FF8s band scenario was pretty much in line. Im not sure where I got it originally, I think the idea of having a bard in the party letting you pick the background music started it, and it grew from there. Legend of Mana had instruments as magic items, and several of the mana series involved using music as magic. I just always thought it would be cool.

[Lord Ash]

well, tomorrow is the last day, increpare was the only one to submit an entry so far. So if you are going to enter a submission, it should be today

[increpare]

well, tomorrow is the last day, increpare was the only one to submit an entry so far. So if you are going to enter a submission, it should be today

Heh.  Thanks for the comments guys.  I hope that this thread be deluged with many entries from many people over the next 36/whatever hours. 

(Is it okay with everyone if I put up a thread for the next comp?)

[muku]

Interesting. Have you seen my thread on procedural music? http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=2236.0

Unfortunately I have only seen your thread now, else I would have whipped up an example which matched your requirements more precisely. Maybe I'll still have time until tomorrow, though I doubt it. But I think that something like this might be exactly what you're looking for if you were to actually develop such a project.

[PaulMorel]

I got distracted by other projects, but I am going to do something tonight!

I should have it posted by 12 EST at the latest!

[PaulMorel]

okay, here's my entry.  I didn't have time to make something as grand as I would like, and my entry doesn't strictly follow the rules.

Basically, my entry is 4 parts that could each act as a melody on their own.  So each could stand alone, and they can go together in virtually any order.

However, I wrote them together, and that's pretty obvious.

My entry DOES, however, come with a back story:

Back in high school in the 60s, your father was part of a brass ensemble that was un-ironically called The Tromboners.  Recently, one of the 5 tromboners passed away, so the remaining 4 decided to have a little reunion concert for him.  Unfortunately, on the way to the concert the group got in a terrible car accident, and afterwards, each player could only remember how to play one simple loop.  Still, you hope that the 4 loops will somehow work together so that the Tromboners can triumphantly reunite at the funeral for one last glorious show!

http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/uploads/TIGMC6.ogg

...god damn Tuba players!

 

...

If you're reading this, then I'm glad to see that my terrible sense of humor didn't strike you dead on the spot!   

Oh, and I wanted to say that I love this idea Ash, I only think that it might be a little too difficult for these informal compos.

[increpare]

 :D I love how the fourth entry alters the rhythm a bit (I'm also more or less good with the harmonies).

[muku]

That's pretty cool, PaulMorel, your entry sets up a very somber mood. Nice work you did on the harmonies.

[Lord Ash]

very cool Paul, very cool. I like how you used just the one instrument, in very different ways. Each acted as a separate part, yet it was just Trombones. It gives inspiration to using chip music, or simple sound processors to create complex and rich sounds. I say let your entry be an example of what one can do with simple harmonies on small systems. very very cool.


Alas I have to declare this one a draw, as the challenge is at an end. but as challenges go, it is also a good idea to practice and use as a way of exploring game music. I most humbly step down, and pass the torch to whomever might be running the next one.

Great job guys, I hope you had fun.