Ho... that's rather neat. The flowers on my shelf are wilting, though. I hope your game development goes well. What development tools will you be using? What platforms are you developing for? Will it be released on Newgrounds? What is the meaning of life?
Reviews for "Vos Postergum"
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Hi, and thanks! I'm terribly sorry about your flowers D:
I hope the development goes well too.
As I can't code, I'll be using Stencyl.
If I get it made in time (before my Stencyl subscription ends), it will be developed in flash format, as well as for Windows Desktop (just for fun, not for commercial reasons).
It will certainly be released on Newgrounds. If I think the game is good enough once finished, I'll try to get it sponsored and uploaded to lots of other sites too. Time will tell.
As for the meaning of life, I wrote a 2857 words and 15658 characters long blog post about it here: http://lucidshadowdreamer.blogspot.fi/2013/11/the-meaning-of-life.html
(Your fault for asking about it >:D)
Ooh, this is delightfully creepy! It's a pretty good ambient track. I really love all the different effects you added, like the static and those percussive hits around 2:48. Seriously, you have a very good instinct for details when you make songs like these in Cubase. Minimalism just isn't in your electronic music, it seems. :)
The thing about this song is that if it's going to be used as background music, there might be a little TOO much variation. Seeing as this is an ambient song, that normally wouldn't be a questionable thing, but for background music, you normally want the listeners to be able to listen to it without distraction from the game while the song still contributes to the ambience. Super-loud parts like 2:35 and 2:47, the loud static, the unconventional rhythmic parts at 1:30, and the soundlessness at the end all contribute to a really amazing ambient song that deserves 5 stars as a song itself, but I'm not too sure how it would be as background music. Knowing you, though... I'm sure you'll find a way to make it work!
Great job, LSD! Now that you've said it, you should definitely have a 'picking flowers' side objective in your game. If it's a puzzle game like your other two, you could have flowers in places that would be 'hard-to-find' alternate solutions, like stars in Cut the Rope. :P Can't wait for the game!
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Why thank you! Don't you just love it when something gets so uneasy that you can't help but love it?
Those "percussive" hits actually consist of me gently touching crystal glasses containing different amounts of water, with a knife. After that; lots of reverb, a heavy filter, and some panning. They would've sounded like crap otherwise. If you listen closely at examplewise 2:42, you can actually hear me rubbing my finger at the edges of the glasses too :p
I'm sure I'll do something minimalistic evenntually as well, but you're right; I do love detail :)
"The thing about this song is that if it's going to be used as background music, there might be a little TOO much variation."
=> HAH! I knew that you would be the first to point this out >:D
Luckily, I've prepared my defence ;)
In a way, you are right. There are some places that really stand out in this piece. That said, I actually tried listening to this track on loop while reading and writing, and it worked really well; I wasn't distracted much at all. And I know this will work in the game too, as it will be a (spoiler) text based adventure game! So reading and writing is precisely what you'll be doing while this track plays. And in such a game, the music is a great addition, as you only have the text and the music to set the mood. There will be no other sounds in the game.
For the same reason, I wanted the piece to be divided into completely different parts. There's the part with the pads at the beginning, then there are isntruments like the piano and a filtered violin (definitely my favorite part), after that it's the organ, choir, and HEAVILY edited harmonica, and finally there's the "static and sound effects" part. The sections have slightly different moods as well. One of the points is to get the listener off-guard, and perhaps even somewhat uncomfortable at times. Similar sounding songs easily become part of the backgound, and are filtered away by the brain. But if things are constantly changing, every now and then you'll start thinking about the music for a few seconds again, although there may be several minutes in between!
So that is my thought process and counterargument. As you said, I have an instinct for detail ;)
You actually gave me a good idea. I thought of a nice way to implement an alternate ending, where you can pick flowers! (in text form, naturally, and perhaps a nice picture and a happy theme in the background!). I can't tell you though. It has to be a thing where 5% of people playing at the very most get that ending, as it sure isn't the intended one. Thanks for the idea! (I can't promise it'll make it into the final installment though).
It's kind of a puzzle/mystery (small bits of... Horror?) game. I can't wait for it to be made either!
Wow, Ale, I'm honored! :D You established this atmosphere really well, and then the church bells and strings worked really well to add to it. They're not the best-quality samples, but the emotion is real. I thought the transition to 1:25 could've been a bit stronger, though. It kind of abruptly goes from a haunting stillness to a still hauntingness, if you know what a mean. All of these instruments are awesome - the organ at 1:40, and the way it sounds slightly more synthesized by 1:47. I loved the choir around 1:50 too, and this piece has a lot of great ups and downs. Compositionally, it's a very solid piece. You definitely keep up the mood throughout, and the fact that I have no idea what the title means adds to the creepy atmosphere. XD It sort of reminds me of a child wandering through a (seemingly) abandoned hospital after the apocalypse. Also, I don't really think it loops that well, but I do think the ending was fitting either way. Overall, solid work! I like listening to this kind of music just as much as I like making it! :D Also, that Far Eastern-sounding percussion towards the end was a nice touch. Keep up the great work, my friend! ;)
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
I'm glad you're honored, and I'm sure you can see the similarities between this and your piece, especially closer to the middle :D
I am actually thinking of buying some HQ-intruments soon :'D
Those are pads at the beginning, but some of them do seem based on strings. The church bells are really just normal "bells" from the beginning, but I added tons of reverb, filters and some other effects to make them sound at least a bit like church bells :3
I agree that the transition at 1:25 is pretty sudden. There are three very different sections in this piece I'd say, and the transitions between all of them could be improved upon. 1:25, 2:06 and then the loops itself. The different parts are so different so a transition would almost have to be as long as a section in itself in order to not be abrupt. I really had trouble looping this piece. Originally, the track began at 0:17, but I cut the very end and added it to the beginning, so I could begin the song with half a second of silence, which eradicated most the problems. The change is very noticable though!
As for the title, it's not even "correct" Latin, although the words do have meaning. I just chose to name it this way because it sounded cooler than most other alternatives I had in mind XD
"It sort of reminds me of a child wandering through a (seemingly) abandoned hospital after the apocalypse"
=> There it is! The part I most enjoy reading in most of your reviews :3 It's good that you get that picture, as it means the atmosphere isn't entirely different than intended.
I guess that you're referring to the gongs at the end. I didn't find any good vst's for them, so I chose a few free samples from two different libraries, and added reverb among possibly something else (I'm not entirely sure, actually).
Thanks for the review! Looking forward to your next upload, whenever you get the chance to make something ;)
EDIT: Which is today actually! Great :D I'm going to listen to it right away!!!
I can't even begin to describe what this particular ambient track emits, but if there's a word to describe what this is, I think that word would be translucent. All of your sounds and instruments diffuse effortlessly into one another, like one big, continuous ripple...probably because you intended to use reverb and muddiness like you say in your description. This will be on repeat for awhile until I can grasp what it is about this I'm so awestruck about :D
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
Why thank you CrabbWalker, I am flattered :)
I understand why you think the word "translucent" is apt to describe this track, and I can kind of agree.
Well, part of the reason to me is that I actually used crystal glass for some of the sounds, but otherwise as well, I see what you mean. That said, I imagine darkness as well. Not empty darkness though. There is intention behind this piece; someone, or something, hiding in the darkness wants something. But what that somethin is, is not clear. That's just how I see it though :p
I love reading the interpretations by other people :D
It's definitely the reverb that helps everything melt together and kind of softly appear and disappear without causing too much of a disturbance ;)
"You Behind" eh?
LucidShadowDreamer responds:
<3<3<3