GAFfers put together a game music compilation that some people her may find interesting:

"Our forum members have completed an interesting electronic music project which includes 26 tracks from 24 different NeoGAF members.

Titled G.A.M.E., the project contains over two dozen tracks ranging from chiptunes to IDM to trance to experimental and everything in between, all inspired by our favorite videogames."

RAR: http://s3.amazonaws.com/files.neogaf.com/NeoGAF%20G.A.M.E.rar

FORUM THREAD: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=219443

Great entry, RadRuss!  I like the peaceful melodies.  It DEFINITELY sounds like farming (at least to me)!

The 1 thing I would change: Bring the levels up and compress the shit out of them.  When I do (web) TV work, the editors usually prefer to mix the volume when they put together the final edit.  So I just deliver something loud, and they can bring it down as they wish.  I assume that a videogame company would do the same.

"This may all be my one lone opinion, but movies have been going downhill for a while now and I haven't seen many things trying to turn things around."

It sounds like you're just going to the wrong movies.

Hollywood is a business.  Studios in Hollywood make movies for 1 reason alone: to make money.  You should never go to a Hollywood movie expecting great things.  That's not to say that Hollywood movies won't be amazing works of art, but that happens so rarely that it's barely quantifiable (Godfather, Amadeus, Unforgiven ...).

If you want innovative movies that are worth watching, then you should go to an independent movie.  Personally, I prefer to watch Hollywood movies just because they are more fun, but my fiancee drags me to indies all the time, and they are far more rewarding ... if you want more from your movie than just entertainment.

... I have to say though: I loved the Hitchhiker's; It was really one of the best films I had seen in a while, and I am a great fan of the books.

Wow, we are the only 2 people in the galaxy who liked BOTH the books and the movie!  I thought that I was alone!   

So long and thanks for all the fish ... da da da dun da dun da dun ... (in my head for the rest of the day)

[Silent Chunk - "slnt"]

Why are you using mp3s?

Personally, rather than compressing my music, I just convert it to mono, 16-bit wav files.  These are usually small enough, and getting them to loop properly is easy as pie (when you get to the end of the buffer, start reading from the front ... basically).

I don't know anything about compressed formats, but in a wav file, it's incredibly easy to spot true silence (no sound in the file whatsoever).  I think that true silence will be a value of 0x00000000 in uncompressed formats.  Either that, or the file will contain a chunk called the Silent Chunk, which may have another value, but it will be garbage:

Silent Chunk - "slnt"
A silent chunk is used to specify a segment of silence that will last some duration of samples. It is always contained within a wave list chunk. While this chunk represents silence, it does not necessarily define a zero volume or baseline sample. It actually holds the last sample value present in the preceding data chunk in the wave list chunk. If there is no preceding data chunk in the wave list chunk, a baseline value should be used (127 for 8-bit data, 0 for 16-bit or higher data). This may seem trivial, but if not followed, may cause undesired clicks and pops in the audio signal.

More here: http://www.sonicspot.com/guide/wavefiles.html

Like I said though, I only ever work with wav files, so none of this may apply to mp3s.  If you guys want some wav-playing source in .Net, java or C, send me a PM, and I will shoot you what I have.

Fallen Empires just entered open beta this week.  It is a multiplayer FPS designed for people in precisely your situation: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1986

I would also suggest Gametap: http://www.gametap.com/

[1. they have a modicum of talent]

My issue with threads like this is that the author hasn't brought anything to the table.  Yes, I see that sketch you made, that's lovely, but why should I want to work with you?

I'm willing to work with anyone who can show me 1. they have a modicum of talent and 2. they will finish what they start.  In this thread, you haven't shown either of those things.

Everyone has big ideas, but very few people can actually make them happen.

Upload some raps to generic loops, and you'll probably get more responses.

I'd like to do a sports game compo, although a non-violent game compo would be fun too.

Either way, I just want it to start soon.

Great contest.  I wish the next compo was starting today.  Actually, I wish it would have started on the day that entries were due. 

Congrats everyone!  Each of the (few) games that I played was something that the author could be proud of... so congrats!

 

I didn't vote because I just don't have time to play enough of these.  All of them look so good.  Still, I have two questions:

1 - How many users did vote?  Out of curiousity.

2 - When are we going to find out the theme for the next contest?

Maybe someone could answer those in the results thread.

I'm still getting used to writing "soundtracky" songs and I always end up with a bit too much "METUL" (especially when it comes to the drums  :D )

I liked it.  I noticed the METUL-ish drums, but I like the general feel of it.  It's very Castlevania-esque.

You could just take the drums out completely.  They really don't add too much to the piece.  Then, you could fill out the texture with some arpeggios, if you need something to keep the piece moving.  Piano, harp, or perhaps glockenspiel arpeggios might work.

congrats!

Everything looks very good, although I am the farthest thing from a connoisseur.

I hope you can get some work in the games industry ... I assume that's what you want to do ... isn't that what we all want to do? 

That is a nifty little tool.  It used to be better, iirc.  I think that you used to be able to modify all the parameters without it reloading ... hmm.

Still, a very interesting little tool.

Looks like I am keeping this thread alive.

Anyway, I mocked up something last night for this little compo.  Unfortunately, I think I went a little too far towards war-RTS music.  It didn't occur to me until I was finishing up that 'Strategy' could also mean Civilization or Pirates or even SimCity... so I might do another one.

http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/uploads/IntoBattle.mp3

What music program would you folks suggest for someone who is broke and pretty much unexperienced with the whole 'make digital music' shenanigans?

If you're a novice musician, then one of the simple programs that others recommend will probably be just fine, but if you have a music background and just no recording background, and you want something more serious, there are actually a lot of options for people on your budget.

I strongly recommend Energy XT2, which is quite awesome, for its price:
http://www.energy-xt.com/

Then, of course, there's Reaper.  A favorite among open source geeks:
http://www.cockos.com/reaper/purchase.php

And there are a number of good programs that are only a little expensive.  Personally, I use a number of DAWs (for professional composition work), but one of my primary DAWs is also one of the cheapest, Tracktion:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Mackie-Tracktion-3-Project-Bundle?sku=701816

Anyway, I hope this helps.  I didn't want to leave you hangin.  I can also direct you to a bunch of free VST plugins that will make your stuff sound awesome, if you want to work with one of these more advanced platforms.

Are midis allowed? :D

I am by no means an authority, but I would say yes.  I think we all have something that can play back a midi file.

MOI, I f%#king LOVE your rankings ... for the obvious reason that my game is first. 

-Last Colonists   ----->17/14/18   =16.75
-Artificial Nature   ----->14/17/18   =16.75
-Test pilot      ----->15/14/17   =16
-dropTD       ----->15/14/17   =16
-Space Game : Mujakwi   ----->12/16/16   =15
-...etc

That's probably all the props that I'll get for it, but you totally made my day.  Thanks for the very nice compliment! 

I wish I had time to play more entries.

I think I will have to abstain unless I can get to a significant number of these (more than the 4 I have played).

[Would any graphics programmer/artist out there be interested in making a full version of this game?]

Thanks for the nice comments moi.

All of your suggestions are right on.  I would like to do more with the idea, but I would need to enlist a graphics programmer.

Would any graphics programmer/artist out there be interested in making a full version of this game?  I would gladly do it in any cross-platform language/environment; I only chose java because it is easy to work in for a 1-man team.

I am a highly motivated musician/programmer, and I think that I could do a full version of this game, with different styles of music on different planets, and a basic mission structure, in less than 2 months, if I could find a decent graphics programmer/artist.

Looks very good.  I am very jealous of your graphics skillz.

I just wanted to mark my game as FINISHED, since I will be out of town this weekend.

It isn't perfect, and it certainly doesn't use all of the ideas that I wanted to get in there, but for my first game in 8 years, I think I did OK.

It's a java browser game, and it can be played here:
http://www.thisisnotalabel.com/lastcolonists/

Forgive the slight load time on the first level.