indie game
nterview By Ninichi | Contact | Follow
Last year, I discovered Railed, a railroad puzzle game, at the time, in development by WarGem LLC. I was commissioned to work on the game music soundtrack and was so pleased to learn all about it! It’s an amazingly addictive game which is easy and fun to play but challenging to master. Here’s my interview with the maker of Railed…
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After having worked with William Palma (@Gedorgames) on the game music to his new and exciting game Arcadium, I am really excited that it’s now on Kickstarter! Arcadium is a super fun game and here’s a little interview with William to give us some more information on it…
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Do you love mobile games and have you always wanted to run your own hospital? If so, this is a game that you have to check out!
Earlier on this year, I, Ninichi, had the pleasure of connecting with Andrea, the Chief Pixel Officer (and much more!) at Twit Games, and I was super excited to learn all about Mini Hospital (@MiniHospGame) and to work on the game music soundtrack for it.
It’s a really awesome mobile game with the potential for endless fun so let’s get to know more about it…Do you love mobile games and have you always wanted to run your own hospital? If so, this is a game that you have to check out!
Earlier on this year I, Ninichi, had the pleasure of connecting with Andrea, the Chief Pixel Officer (and much more!) at Twit Games, and I was super excited to learn all about Mini Hospital and to work on the game music soundtrack for it.
Read MoreInterview By Ninichi | Contact | Follow
What is Calico all about?
‘Calico is a cute and cozy community sim game where the player is a magical girl who inherits a cat-cafe. They are tasked with filling the cafe back up with new fuzzy friends, furniture, and wonderful baked goods. ‘
Who’s it for & where did the idea come from?
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This is the third article in the 'Introducing the game music' series. Each one tries to offer a little bit of insight into what lies behind the music for a specific game I've worked on. As a game music composer, I really enjoy the process of connecting with and working with such a wide range of talented game developers. I've found that each one has their own vision for their game and it is my job to help ensure that this vision is brought to life through the music and the game's soundtrack.
Now, let's take a look at Tank Tank Rush...
What is Tank Tank Rush?
Tank Tank Rush is unique blend between an artillery and side-scroller game, created by the amazing talented Antonin Duboc (@PutschMobi) - owner of Smart Game Studio. In the game, you control a soviet army tank and fire your tank gun at the enemy. The game is set during the Great Patriotic War on the Eastern Front and this is where all the action happens!
The game is still in development, but it's definitely one to watch for those who like shooting things and like a bit of tank fun!
What’s interesting about the music for this game?
The setting for this game makes it quite unique and required quite a specific style of music i.e. a USSR style military march. I worked with Antonin – the solo developer to the game, and composed the theme tune to Tank Tank Rush.
The track gets played in the game during the start menu and so it sets the scene for the game and is the first thing that one hears when looking at the game.
I was asked to create something that has a mix of feeling solemn and being something that one might listen to before going to war i.e. something that gives you courage for battle.
I wanted the game music to sound quite distinct and to work well with the look and feel of the game.
Antonin was also very clear that he didn’t want any other music within the game itself and so I felt that it was important to make this main theme tune track something special.
How did I go about creating the music for this game?
I listened to other music from this era and in this style to ‘get into the zone’. For me this is always an important step in creating any new piece of music as it gives me a good sense of the style when something specific is needed and is also a great source of inspiration and ideas.
I have experience in playing military style music and have heard quite a bit of it in my time. I’m a classically trained musician and used to play in various orchestras and so have a solid grasp of what an orchestra can do. I’ve also actually studied a few of the Russian composers in the past and so felt quite comfortable with this style. I’m very lucky to have had a lot of experience across a wide range of musical genres, which I think helps me a lot when it comes to being able to compose for different projects. I love listening to different kinds of music and the variety that comes my way when being asked to work on and create new music.
Any other thoughts or tips when creating game music?
I've created the music for several indie games now (have a little listen) and absolutely love it! One of the amazing things is how different each game can be and therefore, the wide range of music styles I've had the opportunity to create music in.
One thing I'd say is not to limit yourself when deciding what kind of music you think could fit your game. Take the time to explore different styles and to understand what you really like yourself vs. what you feel others may like to hear when playing your game. You don't have to do what others do necessarily either. Let your creativity flow and let your composer work with you to find a unique sound for your game. (Also see: How to Communicate Effectively with a Composer)
When creating music for a game, it's always important to fully understand the setting for where the music fits with everything, so that when composing, you can create something that will enhance the gameplay and immerse people into that world and specific section of the game.
All music in a game is important I feel, however, the main theme tune should certainly be given extra attention since it's the tune that should stick in people's mind for a while and that they are most likely to associate with your game.
I hope some of this has been interesting! Good luck with your game development and if you'd like some custom music for your game, get in touch!
Other articles in the 'Introducing the game music' series:
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About the author: Ninichi is a freelance composer and music enthusiast. She has composed the soundtracks and music to several indie games. Contact her: to explore working with her on your game, film or media project.
Check out examples of Ninichi's game music compositions and soundtracks & read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog.
Follow her @ninichimusic
This is the second of my 'insight' articles which aim to offer a bit more of a glimpse into how I created the music for different games. This one is called Arty Swirly Colourful and I was really excited when asked to work on the soundtrack for this game. Everything that I learnt and discovered about the game was quite inspiring and so I wanted the music to reflect the calm and beautiful world as well. See what you make of it...
What kind of game is Arty Swirly Colourful?
Arty Swirly Colourful is a beautiful exploratory game created by the talented game development team at Owl Sanctuary Studios. It’s a narrative driven game where you take on the character of a photographer sent into a stunning park – the ficticious Green Bay National Park, where you are tasked with taking photos. These photos are meant to recreate a series of paintings created in the park 100 years previously.
The game is set in a beautiful world populated with interesting wildlife, park rangers and other people to talk to, amazing surroundings and more. The music therefore is designed to reflect the gentle and calming nature of the surroundings as well as the emotional journey that one takes through the different areas of the park.
What is the music like?
The main mood for the music and for the game is that it is relaxing and soothing. The team at Owl Sanctuary Studios were very clear that they didn’t want any heavy electronic sounds and that they wanted a relaxed yet fun vibe. Playing the game and moving through the park is meant to be a chilling and gentle experience and so I’ve tried to make sure that the music supports this.
The first set of tracks composed for the game, are designed for the summer scenes. There are plans to build out the soundtrack further as the game develops and grows but for now we have focused on making the summer tracks fit the various settings and areas within the game.
What are the different game music tracks?
There are 5 tracks that I worked on:
Swirly Summertime – which is meant as a track for the daytime in summer, within the game. It’s therefore on the cheerier side yet still calming and soothing to listen to.
Early Sunrise – is meant to have that feel of awakening, discovery and a sense of wonder around what might be and what opportunities lies ahead
Summer Sunset – is at that beautiful shimmery time of day, when the light is it’s most beautiful. This is important for the photographer / player of the game and so hopefully the music reflects this sense of beauty.
Open Terrain – is meant to feel more airy than the daytime Swirly Summertime track. Who knows what you’ll find in the open areas! It’s a mystery but a fun one!
Forest Trees – is a track that would play when you’re in the forest terrain. Here, I was trying to blend a sense of magic, mystery and calming quietness.
Have a listen to them and see what you make of them! Hopefully you’ll find them just as relaxing as the Owl Sanctuary team do!
A few other things that could be interesting to share about how I worked on these with the Owl Sanctuary Studios team:
we communicated via a combination of emails and Discord
there was a good range of tracks to use as inspiration, ideas and as references
the team listened to each of the tracks to make sure that they all agreed on and liked them before signing each one off
About the author: Ninichi is a freelance indie game composer and music enthusiast. She has composed the soundtracks and music to several indie games. Contact her: to explore working with her on your game, film or media project.
Check out examples of Ninichi's game music compositions and soundtracks & read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog.
Follow her @ninichimusic
I ran a poll on through my Twitter account (@ninichimusic) asking what people might like to see more of on my blog. The top votes went for ‘Updates on my music’ and ‘Game music tips’. So, I’ve been thinking about what I can share about the music I’ve been working on and here is the first blog of hopefully a series of them, which offer a little bit more insight into the game music and other music projects I’ve had the privilege of working on, and how they’ve come together.
I’ve also done several interview style blogs, which have generally been received well and so although it may be a little strange interviewing myself – I’m going to use that kind of format to hopefully make these easy and fun to read! So here’s goes my first one!
What’s Shakey’s Escape about?
Shakey’s Escape is an adventure game about a cat, Shakey whose owner kicks him out of the house and from there on, your journey begins! You wander the streets coming across various puzzles, villains and much much more.
It’s a game developed by Smashing Pixels, also known as Doobly HQ. Earlier on last year I wrote an article taking a closer look at the game just as it was about to launch: Introducing the Game: Shakey’s Escape. It’s now available on Android and i0S and is free to download.
What’s the soundtrack like?
The original game music soundtrack consists of 10 tracks, which I would probably separate out into 3 different styles and/or moods:
1. Dreamy and relaxed
For the main menu track I tried to create a dreamy feeling. It’s when Shakey the cat, is snuggled up by a lovely, warm fireplace. In the music I tried to make it feel cosy and relaxed, and I think that the harp helps greatly in achieving this.
2. Light and sneaky
A lot of the game music that I composed for this game fall into this category. This is because the bulk of the game is when Shakey is exploring different places. There’s sneaking, discovering, playing, jumping, getting into trouble in lots of different ways – and I tried to reflect this in the music.
Since Shakey has just been kicked out by his original owner, everything that he sees and discovers through the various levels of the game is a new experience. So, there are elements of danger, mystery, uncertainty and cautiousness in the music too.
A few things that you may notice when you listen to the game music, is that a lot of the soundtrack is in a minor key and I’ve chosen to use a lot of pizzicato strings. To me, that was a way to create that sneaky, jumpy, cat-like feel.
3. Fights & Action
As one may expect, there are some fights in the game! Shakey’s adventures aren’t all just wandering around and discovering new things. There are villains that cross Shakey’s path and that must be dealt with!
So, for the levels and sections where there is more action taking place, the music becomes more intense to reflect this.
You may also notice that the music style changes as you get to the higher levels. It becomes more energetic, urgent sounding and retro. These are the tougher levels, which are much more difficult to get through and everything that Shakey is experience is really out of his comfort zone e.g. trying to fly a helicopter! The music, therefore, is more intense and faster to reflect this.
What did I enjoy most about working on this soundtrack?
Shakey’s Escape is the first original soundtrack that I’ve released and so I’m really honoured to have worked on it with Rob, the developer of the game.
It has been such a fun and rewarding journey to see the game develop and the music develop alongside it. I saw lots of clips of the game as I worked on the music for each level of the game. That really helped to give me an idea of what I needed to make the music work well with, and it was also just really stimulating and fun to see how the game was coming along.
By the time we finished working together, I couldn’t wait to see the full game released! It has been really well received so far and I just hope that the soundtrack does the game justice and gets just as well received as the game itself!
Is the soundtrack available and what’s next?
Yes indeed it is. Shakey’s Escape Original Game Music Soundtrack is available:
In terms of what’s next for me – well, I’d love to do more game music soundtracks as well as other music projects. So, if you need some help with your game music soundtrack, let me know (i.e. contact me here)! I’d also love to release more of the soundtracks I’ve done (check out my discography here) and sharing more blogs/information on them too, so watch this space!
About the author: Ninichi is a freelance composer and music enthusiast. She has composed the soundtracks and music to several indie games. Contact her: to explore working with her on your game, film or media project.
Check out examples of Ninichi's game music compositions and soundtracks & read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog.
Follow her @ninichimusic
Interview By Ninichi | Contact | Follow
This week, I'm happy to be exploring Cat Quest, which is the latest game created by the award winning games studio responsible for bringing the popular game Slashy Hero to Android & iOS! Let's see what they have to tell us about the game.
Tell me about your team and your game...
'The team behind Cat Quest is none other than The Gentlebros. We're a team made up of veterans of the games industry. Having worked on console (PS3, PS4) titles in Koei Tecmo, we're all very experienced developers and we're looking to bring that knowledge to our own games.
Cat Quest is a 2d Open World RPG set in the fantastic and wonderful world of cats! Play as a catventurer as you explore a massive continent crafted in the unique style of tapestry! Relive the good old days of exploring an overworld map as you raid dungeons for epic loot, complete quests and meet the many furry denizens of this world!'
How long have you been working on your game for? How have you gone about developing it?
'We've been working on Cat Quest close to a year(including pre-production). We decided to use the Unity engine to make it as it is the most user friendly engine out in the market now, and there's a huge community working on the engine as well.'
What's different about it & why should we check it out?
'A streamlined open world action RPG set in the unique world of cats! Imagine a world where cats are the main inhabitants. How would things change?
Go to places like the Catpital where the Lion King rules, or experience delicacies like the catnip pie! Talk to the locals, some already on their 7th or 8th lives (what? not all cats have nine lives y'know), and go on a catventure through a world you've never seen before!'
What part does music play in your game?
'Music is an important part as it sets the mood and tone of the areas in the game. Its bright and cheerful when exploring the overworld, and dark and creepy when deep inside dungeons.
Music helps to separate these different areas from each other, and heighten the feeling we want players to have. Indeed, without music, the game would feel dead and flat.'
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer and film music composer. She has worked on a number of games and is a great supporter of indie developers and indie games. If you're looking for music that will help your game to stand out contact her now to discuss your game music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
