Gunpoint Music - Layered Audio (OpenHeartSound)

Wrote some music for Gunpoint. It was a lot of fun!
Starts sparse & stays that way for a bit. Jump to 4:30 if you're impatient to hear the extra rhythms that get layered in as the game progresses. Read on / turn on comments for details.
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My idea was to have a relatively simple loop underlying the entire game. One that wouldn't change when switching between screens or going to menus. Instead, the dynamics would be provided by applying filters or layering in new hi-hat polyrhythms at different game events. I'm a strong believer in the power of repeating loops in game settings... as long as they're not too in-your-face, looping music helps keep the player's focus where it needs to be.

I know mine is a lot less lush and complex sounding than most of the others at first, but bear with me. The aim was to create an environment that didn't distract you from what was happening on screen. Instead, it would slowly build rhythmic tension as you moved through each level. I kept things sparse and added in new hi-hat or glitch layers every time a guard got taken out. Things start hollow, but as you progress through levels with a lot of guards, it should get pretty tense.

But I didn't want you to really notice it building while you were concentrating on the action. Not until you've reached the end of a level and the music takes a breath again should you realize the sounds had gotten kind of frantic. I think the best example of this in the video comes at about 6:20; after you've spent a few minutes taking out five guards and finally reach the next screen.

For 'crosslink mode,' I applied a spectral filter to the main pad sound in order to give a behind-the-screen effect without interrupting things too much.

For the menu screens, I added in a sort of future/past communicator-ish beeping stutter. Didn't want to ditch the basic loop there, and didn't want to add in any overt melodies. Tried to keep the pulse of the game going.

I had fun working out this layer-a-new-rhythm-for-each-dead-guard idea, and I hope the feel of the basic loop fits. I actually had some more melodic, orchestrated ideas worked out first, but they all ended up sounding like too much. The more "impressive" I made the sounds, the more distracting they became. I ended up liking this simple repeating groove the most because it seemed to keep the game flowing the best. Anyway, thanks a lot for listening!

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• gunpoint
• music
• game
• sound
• design
• sound design
• game music
• game audio
• audio
• fun