There are many things to think about when considering what music to put alongside your game. Getting it right, however, is really important as the music can really bring a game to life. It can enhance the user experience and get them in the right 'zone' for playing and enjoying your game. Read on to find out more...
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'Sheepwith is a homage to cave flyers with a twist - you fly a one seated plane that has a rope attached to it. With it you can pick up and transfer objects and animals. The main object of the game is to save sheep to their pens and fly the plane safely to a home hangar.
Robber Docks is essentially me (Ike Lindell) and Sheepwith has been my solo project'
What has the process been like & do you have any tips for other game developers?
'When I was a kid I played this game called Sopwith made in 1984 by David L. Clark. I enjoyed it so much I've started making more than a few Sopwith Camel flying games since.
Sheepwith started as what was supposed to be a small weekend project. I made a prototype of a plane that could pick up sheep with a rope and it seemed like it could be something. After developing from there it started getting positive comments on Twitter which gave me more inspiration to continue making it bigger and better.
What has been working well for Sheepwith is redoing the same stuff. Most of the time when you redo an asset it can only become better so don't be afraid of ruining your progress so far. Although this has given me good results, it's always important to save multiple backups.'
What makes your game different?
'If all goes well cute animals, fun gameplay and catchy music will win the game for Sheepwith and attract the attention it deserves. I've directed my focus in creating fun and challenging levels delivering excitement and fun for multiple hours.'
What is the music like in your game?
'After much consideration I decided Sheepwith would have funk to accompany player's flight. Funk has the groove that a good flying game needs. I'm working with a familiar musician who's composing away to bring fun and catchy music for Sheepwith and for your enjoyment.'
What do you think of game music generally? Any favourites?
'I was born in the '80s so many of my favorite soundtracks from my childhood games are considered retro today. I enjoyed music from Commander Keen, Jazz Jackrabbit, Mega Man, Lost Vikings etc.
When I draw game graphics I usually listen to music to get the creativity flowing. For Sheepwith Kohina.com that plays old school chiptune music has been playing and inspiring in the background a lot.'
How will you market your game?
'As we can't really afford to spend on traditional marketing, every retweet, mention and post helps bring Sheepwith to the players. We plan on contacting YouTubers, web columnists and websites asking about their interest in writing about or streaming Sheepwith.'
Where can we get the game and why should we play it?
'The game has been released and is available at: https://robberdocks.itch.io/sheepwith
If you like planes, fun gameplay, colorful scenery and cute animals, you'll love Sheepwith!'
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer & supporter of indie games. If you are looking for some help with your game music contact me to explore how I can help.
Learn more About me (Ninichi) and have a listen to examples of my game music.
If you enjoyed this article explore Ninichi's music blog further & follow @ninichimusic
As an indie game developer or indie filmmaker, one of the toughest challenges in your creative journey is staying motivated through it. If you’re working alone or even in a small team, maintaining that energy and enthusiasm through the various stages of your project can be really hard – especially each time you hit a stumbling block, which you inevitably will.
As a music composer I have supported various game developers and filmmakers, helping them to realise their exciting concepts and to bring their games and films to life. Being a part of the process is a real privilege and if I can – I like to help others where I can, so here are some tips that I hope you will helpful:
1. Know why you’re doing this
What’s driving you to make this game or film? What’s exciting about it and which aspects do you really want to get your teeth into? Know what the reasons are for doing this and jot those down. Keep them close to you as a reminder and motivator. Know the purpose of this whole exercise and experience and think about what you’re hoping to get out of it.
2. Establish what you want to do (and what you don’t want to be doing)
What areas do you want to be involved in and which areas aren’t so interesting for you? Often people lose motivation when they’re stuck doing something that they never really wanted to be doing in the first place. Creating a game or film requires lots of skills. You may not have all of these skills and you may or may not want to develop all of these skills.
There is nothing wrong with not wanting to learn absolutely everything and in finding others to help with those key areas.
3. Set some achievable goals & reward yourself along the way
Try to make a plan with some goals, milestones, and targets for you to aim for. Break it down into manageable tasks so that it doesn’t feel overwhelming and each time you make a break through – celebrate! There will be many steps along the way and it’s important to know what those steps are, to keep moving forwards and to appreciate how far you’ve come.
4. Build a support network
Find people who can support you through your game development or filmmaking journey. These could be people who:
- Have done it before and can share experiences
- Are creating their own games / films now – who are in the same boat
- Can offer expertise in specific areas e.g. music / sound effects / art etc.
- Can form part of your team – and work with you to complete the project
- Are enthusiastic about games / films and can be supportive and loyal fans
5. Invest real money into it
I’m a big believer in investing in projects that you really want to work and believe in. This means investing both your time and money into it. If you put some financial investment into it (it doesn't have to be masses by the way - just a little is fine), this means you’ve got some skin in the game and you have to make it work.
The amount of investment is completely up to you - but if you invest in the game (in the assets / sound / your team), or your film (the crew / cast / music etc) - you will have that extra drive and need to make your project successful. Failure will not be an option and you will make it happen!
6. Tell people about what you’re doing
Don’t be shy about your game or film. What you’re doing is exciting, brave and challenging. Your friends / colleagues will most likely be really supportive and could be helpful along the way. Another key reason to shout about it – is that often when you tell others that you’re going to do something – by having said it out loud – you will hold yourself accountable to making it happen and staying true to your word. Say that it’s what you are doing, and you will make it so.
(Also see: How to Promote Your Game on Twitter)
7. Try to stay focused
You may have lots of other ideas – of other games or films that you want to work on, but realistically there is only one of you and you only have so much time. Pick one to prioritise and see it through. If you don't, you will most likely keep getting distracted and finish none of your great ideas - so focus focus focus!
8. Don’t procrastinate
Your time is precious, and so use it wisely and make sure that you’re moving your project along whenever you can. Try to get into a routine whereby you dedicate a bit of time to your project every day or week or whatever you decide works for you – and stick to it. It may seem tough initially but if you stick to your routine and also take some time to figure out what routine works best for you - it will become a habit and part of your lifestyle.
Completing a project can be really challenging but it’s worth it! Your game or film deserves to be created and for others to be able to see and appreciate what you’ve built and put together. Don’t give up – and if you need some help with music, don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
About the author: Ninichi is a music composer for games, films & media. She is the in-house composer for games company Quinton Studios and enjoys working on a range of freelance composing projects. Contact her now to discuss your project and music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
Interview by Ninichi | Contact | Follow
This week, I'm super excited to introduce you to a brand new web series aimed at gamers and which promises to be highly entertaining and like no other series or show around! I feel honoured to have been a part of this project and to have created some 'gaming-style' music for this series, and are pleased to share this interview with the brains behind the project...
Please introduce yourself so that we know who you are!
'Hello everyone, my name is Edward Hughes, better and well known as KeikoandGilly, an intermediate YouTube voice actor with much to learn. I have done projects like Ace Attorney Dubs, MLP fan projects like Turnabout Storm and Doctor Whooves n Assistant, Thomas the Tank Engine re-dubs, and many more. I aspire to voice act for anime and games one day, but until then, if you need a good voice on your project, let me know, and I will be there to audition.'
What is your web series about?
'Code-named at conception as #projectevil, Dr. Glove's E.V.I.L. Reviews is about an 80's evil mastermind, Dr. Glove (reference to the power glove he's wearing) being the source of why subjectively bad video games are bad, with potential to branch into movies and television shows in the near future. The premise of the concept is a satire on video game reviews, with enjoyable experiences and good games get bad reviews, and terrible experiences and bad games get good reviews and higher scores.
From time to time, the show will have guest collaborators, who will play horrible games suggested by fans, or from the collaborators themselves, which will be featured as Dr Glove reacts to their live reaction.'
How did you come up with the concept for your show?
'It was a mix of two things:
I was inspired by the content delivered by Angry Video Game Nerd, AngryJoeShow, and Nostalgia Critic on how they did their reviews. Angry Joe uses an alter ego called "Corporate Commander", a spoof of Cobra Commander from an American cartoon series called G.I. Joe, but the character is rarely featured in favour of Joe's personal and intricate review. That was when I decided to create a memorable villain and centre the series around it.
The second is a response to over-saturation: of critics and let's play streamers. While my idea is not completely original, it comes as a rarity as YouTube is, in my humblest of opinions, oversaturated with video game critics, both tame and "Angry" (as AVGN was the start of this fad), and Let's Players such as Markiplier, DashieGames, PewDiePie, and JackSepticEye taking centre stage.
The result is that you see similar if not the same experiences from a multitude of sources, which can lead to entertainment boredom. By taking the concepts on their head, I hope the project is a fun and entertaining experience, one that promotes open collaboration with YouTube audiences.'
Who is the series for?
'I am trying to make the series accessible to everyone, including younger audiences, but the primary market is gamers and those that enjoy games. In doing so, I have to censor swear words or be creative with insulting phrases that mean nothing in particular (e.g. 'You Blubbard! That was my best ray gun!', 'Oh for the love of Evil!!!' Or 'Oh for evil's sake')'
What are your plans for the series?
'Depending on how the series goes, I hope it become a fun project that people enjoy to see as I enjoy making it, and with open collaboration, it will ensure the project is lively as ever. Should I be invited to conventions, I hope to acknowledge the success of the project not just to my idea, but humbly I give nod and acknowledgement to everyone who took part in making it what it is, that includes this blog's very own Ninichi!!!'
What part does music play in the web series and how important is it?
'The project has three vital components, of which are intertwined and interconnected. They are the visual, acting, and music. With the visual, you see the moving imagery and design from both the artwork assets, the game being played, and the characters that set the stage of the performance. Credit for much of the artwork goes to my dear colleagues HowlingVoice, and DreamofSerenity626, for their massive contributions to the setting and character, and the visual effects respectively.
With acting, it provides an experience to suspend disbelief and for the audience to be immersed in the experience.
In both, the music not only accompanies these two fields, but enhances them, which is why it is a very important part in its own right. Every successful YouTube and Internet personality has a memorable theme song, and this project is no different. Ninichi, whom I must give proper praise and credit for, delivered a memorable tune that leaves potential YouTube audience listeners hooked and hyped for the review, wanting to see the performance of Dr. Glove as he either praises or bashes their loathed or loved video game franchise, series, or product.
On top of this, and an amazing three minute version, she provided music for the background, of general mood and atmosphere, reflecting experiences that harken back to 80's cartoons and nostalgia, the mindset where the performance wishes to take the audience back to. Another colleague of mine, Maravex, provided the transition bgm, such as single-player, multiplayer, music, sounds. Together, the music makes a harmonious story in and of itself, which adds to the overall experience one gives to performance to the masses.'
That all sounds wonderful! Let's listen to some of the tracks that will appear in the series:
What was it like working with Ninichi?
'On the one side, very professional courteous, and mutually amicable. Throughout my experience working in collaboration with Ninichi, she demonstrated her abilities to manage the scope of the project's needs and adapt to any changes that were required and where necessary.
On the other side, and pardon me for being a bit too silly in hyperbole, she was an angel and blessing. When I made the announcement for a music artist being needed, it wasn't met well, initially. I feared it may have well gone to deaf ears. In desperation I made a twitter post, hoping it would garner some attention on the off chance, as I did not want this project to fail like some of my other designs.
And then, a mere day later, I get a follow and an interested Ninichi ready and willing to lift the project up with her music. So working for her is like two artists coming together to make a masterpiece, a wonderful experience from beginning to end, and hopefully for more works in future.'
About the author: Ninichi is a freelance composer and music enthusiast. She composes music for tv & web series, films, games and other media. Contact her: to explore working with her now.
Read more articles like this on the Ninichi music blog. Follow her @ninichimusic
One of the reasons that many of us find games so enjoyable is because of the music. Music can really help to enhance a players experience of a game and to immerse them in it. When choosing what music to put to your game, it is important to have in mind the various ways that music can be used throughout the game…
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Please introduce yourself to everyone...
'I'm Jeroen (@pixelscripter)! I'm married, am father to two beautiful daughters and I live in the Netherlands. I started programming games when I was about 9 years old. Throughout my youth I developed and played a lot of games. Later in life I worked as a professional game developer for multiple companies, and kept developing games in my spare time. At the beginning of 2016 I decided to “go indie” and I founded my own company, now called E-Genic. I'm currently developing my first independent title called "Gladiators of the Underworld".'
How exciting! What's your game about?
'Gladiators of the Underworld is a fast-paced, combat focused, arcade survival game, in which you battle as a gladiator in the underworld arena. For ages, gladiators have been competing in the underworld arena. You are a Necromancer and you need to prove yourself in battle against the most foul creatures, including Demons, Warlocks and Grim Reapers.
From the start, you are equipped with a skeleton staff which you can use as a ranged weapon by shooting fireballs. It can be used as a melee weapon, by striking your opponents. You can also perform a force push attack, by slamming it into the ground.
Furthermore you can obtain special weapons like bombs and lightning to attack your opponents with more devastating force. You can also get hold of a flying demonic skull, that will help you in battle by flying to, and attacking all enemies in the arena.'
What should we look out for in the game?
'I've tried to balance the game in a way so that it's quite challenging to beat. It's quite unforgiving compared to most games. It has more of an arcade kind of approach to it. If you die...well, you're dead, and you'll have to start over. But every time you play, you'll get better and better at judging how to respond in a specific situation in order to survive.
You'll also develop better insight in which abilities you will want to upgrade first in order to get the most out of your preferred play-style. The type of enemies (each with their own strengths and weaknesses) and type and amount of powerups you'll encounter will also change as you progress into the arena rounds.'
Tell us about how you developed the game
'The game is built using the Phaser framework. Phaser is a fast, free and fun open source framework for Canvas and WebGL powered browser games. It is maintained by Richard Davey (Photon Storm) who has been active in the HTML5 community for years. The game itself is developed in JavaScript ES2015, using Babel to transpile to ES5.
When I first had the idea to develop a game, I created a prototype. The fighting mechanics were so much fun! I decided to make the game revolve around fast-paced combat, and leave the large procedurally generated worlds and dungeons, for another game (maybe a sequel? :).
I extracted the battle part of the prototype and started iterating on it. I added more weapons, powerups, enemies and player/enemy abilities to improve on. It wasn't long before the concept of fighting in an underworld arena popped into my head: Gladiators of the Underworld was born. I estimated that a beta version would be achievable within the 4 months I had for it, and it worked out perfectly.
All in all the core development took just under four months to complete (exluding creating the website, description texts, animated gifs and trailer movie).'
What an amazing journey! Where can we go and check out your wonderful creation?
Gladiators of the Underworld Beta is now available for free here: https://pixelscripter.itch.io/gotu
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer. She is the in-house composer for games company Quinton Studios and works on a range of freelance composing projects including games, films & other media projects.
Want some great custom music for your game? Listen to ninichi's game music and contact her now to discuss your game music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
Interview by Ninichi | Contact | Follow
This week I have the pleasure of sharing my interview with Angel Polanco (@VeyeralGames), the maker of The Void Rain Upon Her Heart video game...
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into game development?
'I have basically wanted to create video games for my entire life. When I was in third grade, my friend let me play the game Crash Bandicoot: Warped on his PlayStation. This was the first time that a video game had hooked me. I remember that I started imagining and drawing my own levels for that game almost immediately after playing it for the first time. I knew right away that my dream was to create my own video games.
By the age of 9, I had Flash installed on my computer and I was already programming some basic games. I didn't have the internet on my own computer at the time, so I would only rarely be able to get online and copy down what I could. Then I would slightly tweak the code and see what would change in order to figure out what exactly how it worked. That was how I taught myself to program.
By the age of 12, I had started (but never finished) about 20 different games, but the one I remember the most was a Worms clone. Instead of worms it was a game about a war between slugs and snails. I was somehow able to implement a timer based turn system and some decent enemy AI. I really can't remember how I was able to do it with almost no help. Unfortunately, I lost all of my flash game files and never published them anywhere.
Somewhere around that time I discovered a little program called GameMaker. It was super easy to learn and I was amazed at how much my games were improving by using it. GameMaker was far less powerful back then but I stuck with it and it basically grew up with me. It always seemed to get an upgrade just when I needed it. I still use GameMaker to this day and it has never let me down.'
What is your game called and how do you play it?
'My game is called The Void Rains Upon Her Heart. It is a bullet-hell shoot-em-up game where you only fight bosses. The main game has you play through 10 bosses which are randomly chosen except for the final boss. Each defeated boss will give you random power ups that stack together. It has permadeath so you have to start over if you die, but a successful run should only take about 15 minutes. There is also a Quickplay mode where you can practice against bosses that you have unlocked and try to get high scores on them.'
It sounds really fun! What should we be looking out for in your game? What makes it special in your view?
'The theme of this game is very unusual as far as I know. You play as an alien woman who is trapped in a cave surrounded by monsters. You actually control her heart while shooting love bullets at bizarre eldritch monsters. She is actually trying to befriend the monsters while they try to resist with tons of bullets. It has a dissonant mix of cute and creepy visuals that I think helps set the mood. There is obviously a lot of inspiration from Undertale in there, but I also get a lot of ideas from the Kirby series. I always loved how Kirby games start out cute and cheerful, but they always end up with an otherworldly monstrosity as a final boss.
This game also changes up the common bullet-hell formula. Usually they go through very scripted sequences of bullets to dodge, this way players are able to memorize the game and eventually master a perfect run. That is a fine design choice, but I wanted my game to be a bit more random. All of the bosses' attacks are set so they can be memorized to some extent, but they always attack in a random order. On top of this, the power up items you get are also random so you might be able to defeat a boss with ease one time, but then struggle on the same boss next time. A lot of this randomness was inspired by games like The Binding of Isaac. Some veteran bullet-hell players may not like this randomness, but I think this gives the game more replayability for those who are not purely motivated by highscores.'
What can you tell us about the game development process?
'I have actually been working on a much larger scale game called Eye Attack for several years, but I really needed a break from that game. The Void Rains Upon Her Heart is a side project I started to not only take a break, but to also get actual experience in releasing a game. If all goes well, this game will be my first commercial release! I'll be able to return to my main game with more experience. I have already learned so much from this little game.
Unfortunately, the initial conception of this game was not during a happy time in my life. A while ago, I began exhibiting symptoms of an anxiety disorder. I could not eat, or sleep, or go outside without a constant fear that I might have a panic attack in public. During that time I was playing a bullet-hell game and it suddenly occurred to me that the relentless bullet patterns could be used as an interesting way to visualize anxiety. This is when I had the idea to make a bullet-hell game with the themes of depression and anxiety and how people are able to cope with it. Every boss battle represents an anxiety or fear of some sort. Many of the power up items represent different coping mechanisms. Despite all the negativity, the game constantly reminds you not to give up.
Anxiety disorders are a problem that a lot of people face and I have noticed it in many other game creators that I follow. I hope anyone who plays my game while living with these issues will come out feeling like they are not alone in their struggle. Feeling like I wasn't alone would help me out on the worst days. I am one of the extremely lucky ones who was able to recover after only taking one type of medication for a few months.'
How did you go about creating the game music?
'First I will talk about how I was creating music for Eye Attack since a lot of the soundtrack for The Void Rains Upon Her Heart will be similar. I took a music 101 course at my college which was perfect for introducing me to reading and writing music. It taught me just enough so I could start creating some beats and melodies that at least sounded fine. It was good enough, but I wanted to be able to write game music that would be praised as one of the main reasons to play my games.
About a year later I played through Undertale and I was completely in love with the music. I wanted to know how that music was so well designed, so I started reading some analyses on the soundtrack. I was completely fascinated by it, so I began studying all of my favorite game soundtracks. I looked at Kirby music, Undertale's music, and other soundtracks that inspired me. I'm also a fan of heavy metal music, so I started analyzing my favorite bands too. I took everything I learned and just started writing more songs for Eye Attack. I noticed the quality in my own music was improving very quickly!
Very early into the development of The Void Rains Upon Her Heart, I decided that the two games would be connected in story. A lot of the bosses will be showing up in both games. This meant that I could use a lot of the music that I had already written for Eye Attack in this game. Each boss type has it's own musical theme that I tried to match with their personalities. I really hope the music is memorable for those who play my games. At the very least, learning how to write the music was very fun for me so it was already worth it.'
What are your plans for your game and where can we download it?
'The game is still currently in development, but there is an alpha demo currently available at http://www.veyeralgames.com/
There are only 8 bosses in the alpha but I plan on making that total well over 30 before the final release. There will also be a much more diverse set of power up items and plenty of other unlockables.
The game is currently on steam greenlight now so if you like the look of the game - please help to vote for it!
'I would also like to mention that I am incredibly grateful to have a family that fully supports my dream. They have always been 100% supportive even as the development time on my games has stretched into years. Thanks to them, I have not had to worry about getting a job so I have always been able to work full time on my games. I just hope for enough success to be able to support myself financially while still continuing to create more games.'
Thank you for reading this article and for your interest in indie games! Are you a game developer needing some help with your game music? If so, perhaps I (Ninichi) can help. I'm a game music composer and would be delighted to support you with your game. Contact me now at ninichimusic@gmail.com to explore how we might work together.
Did you enjoy this article? If so, read about more indie games and game music tips on Ninichi's music blog.
Follow me @ninichimusic
Interview by Ninichi | Contact | Follow
On my blog this week, I'd like to introduce you to an interesting project that I came across - currently called armageddon, but whose real name will be revealed shortly! It is an animated series created by Berserker Crow (@massacre_crow)
Please tell us about yourself and your animated series...
'I'm an aspiring graphic novel author who is a huge gamer and a geek for comics and manga. My story is a post apocalyptic dark fantasy with modern elements thrown in there. It will be a series of books first and then I will make it into an anime series on YouTube for everyone to watch!'
Tell us about the story behind the series. What is it about?
'The story takes place in modern day society. The main Character is Mercutio Crow who is a high school senior who was bullied and abused by his peers and teachers. He never knew what it's like to have anything he wanted, nor did he know how it felt like to have power over others.
One day in school, he was being tortured and beaten by bullies, his sanity shatters into pieces. In the middle of metal working class, he violently murder his bullies and desecrated their corpses in front of the whole class. As they watch in horror, he begins to cannibalize their bodies by eating chunks of their heart.
Before Crow could do more, the authorities show up and put him in a straight jacket. This is where he is sent to a mental hospital for many many years. Now labeled as a psychopath, he trained and changed his mind and strengthen his body, he wants to become a weapon. His eyes now open, he sees how truly cruel and twisted the world is and will turn against it before the world turns against him. After his many years of failed research, there was no way to cure Crow's twisted and tortured mind. Keeping him inside the hospital will do him no good, so he was discharged.
With nowhere to go and only wearing the clothes on his back, he wanders the world seeking his family. Then something unexpected happens! The sky turns red and it begins to rain blood and fire, the world forever changes! Out of the sky, lightning strikes the ground and it opens portals from hell and other plains of existence - summoning massive hordes of demons and monsters, dark knights and dragons!
The world around him was invaded by all things mentioned in biblical folklore and legends! Society is at war with the supernatural and humanity is being slaughtered like cattle by these creatures! Crow has only one thing to do...survive! As he fights for his life, he must figure out what is really going on and the human world twists and changes into a world of dark fantasy. Every character and companion he meets is inspired by real people that i know in my personal life!'
What are your plans for this project?
'I will try to get my work published and released as a series of books, and if the demand is high enough, i will make the animated series on YouTube for all to see. I will hire voice actors and of course Ninichi will be making the soundtrack for the series!'
Where did the idea behind this story come from?
'The story was inspired heavily from my favorite game Dark Souls. I thought to myself one day, what would happen if the horrific creatures and demigods attacked and invaded modern day society? Would we survive? The survival and drama aspect was inspired by The Walking Dead and Berserk! You will see many references and easter eggs from different games and stories that i have been a big fan my whole life! Lets see if you can find them.'
How important is music for this project?
'The music behind the animated series is what brings the story its atmosphere and ambiance. The World of my stary is very dark and grim but also epic and at times beautiful! Whenever i draw characters in my free time, i usually listen to Two Steps From Hell and Future World Music! It helps me imagine the epic world of my Story. So the music is extremely important to me.'
Where can we find out more?
Most of my concept art is on my twitter! Give me a follow if you want to see more updates on my work! My twitter name is "Berserker Crow" i cannot wait to show you guys my work!
About the author: Ninichi is a game music composer. She is the in-house composer for games company Quinton Studios and works on a range of freelance composing projects supporting talented game developers with their games & game music.
Want some great custom music for your game? Listen to Ninichi's game music and contact her now to discuss your game music needs.
Follow her @ninichimusic
